Ultraviolet-photoemission studies of formic acid decomposition on ZnO nonpolar surfaces

Ultraviolet photoemission studies of HCOOH decomposition on ZnO (1100) at 120 and 300 K show that the reaction products remaining on the surface include CO and atomic O. Both the 5 σ (lone-pair) and 1 π orbitals of CO show chemical bonding shifts due to adsorption; this multiple-bonding behavior contrasts that observed on transition metal surfaces and apparently reflects special properties of the ZnO semi-conductor surface. © 1976.