FTIR spectroscopy combined with quantum chemical calculations to investigate adsorbed nitrate on aluminium oxide surfaces in the presence and absence of co-adsorbed water

Surface reactions of nitrogen oxides with aluminium oxide particles result in the formation of adsorbed nitrate. Specifically, when α-Al₂O₃ and γ-Al₂O₃ particles are exposed to gas-phase NO₂ and HNO₃ adsorbed nitrate forms on the surface. In this study, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is combined with quantum chemical calculations to further our understanding of the adsorbed nitrate product on aluminium oxide particle surfaces in the presence and absence of co-adsorbed water at 296 K. FTIR spectra of adsorbed nitrate on α-Al₂O₃ and γ-Al₂O₃ particles are interpreted using calculated vibrational frequencies of nitrate coordinated to binuclear Al oxide cluster models. Comparison of the calculated and experimental vibrational frequencies of adsorbed nitrate establishes different modes of coordination (monodentate, bidentate and bridging) of the nitrate ion to the surface in the absence of adsorbed water. In the presence of co-adsorbed water, the nitrate ion becomes fully solvated, as shown by a comparison of the experimental nitrate infrared spectra as a function of relative humidity with the calculated nitrate vibrational frequencies for binuclear Al cluster compounds which contain both coordinated nitrate ions and water molecules. These calculations also suggest that adsorbed water can displace nitrate from direct coordination to the surface, leading to an outer-sphere nitrate adsorption complex as well as an inner-sphere complex. Furthermore, the relative humidity dependence of the spectra suggest that water does not evenly wet the surface even at high relative humidity, as there are open or bare surface sites where nitrate ions are not solvated. Besides adsorbed mondendate, bidendate, bridging and solvated nitrate, the presence of ion bound nitrate ion, partially solvated nitrate, molecular nitric acid, hydronium ion and H₃O⁺:NO₃⁻ ion pairs on the oxide surface are also discussed.