The role of potassium on CO oxidation

Alkali metals are regarded as promoters in many catalysts which can promote the reaction rate of various chemical processes including ammonia synthesis, CO oxidation, the water-gas shift reaction and so on. However, an unambiguous picture of how alkali metals impact catalytic activity have not been draw. In order to uncover alkali-metals promotion effect, we focus on the chemical and physical properties of atomically dispersed alkali metal, such as atomic potassium, supported on ultrathin metal oxide film and the interaction of alkali metals with noble metals which possess catalytic activity for a range of chemical reactions.
Au/CuO can catalyze CO oxidation in a relative low temperature. Using K/CuO/Cu(110) model system, we investigate the potassium atoms in low coverage on one monolayer CuO and K-Au interaction .