Activation of carbon dioxide leading to a chemisorbed carbamate species at a Cu(100) surface

Abstract

The formation of a strongly chemisorbed copper carbamate complex, tilted with respect to the surface, is shown to occur during the coadsorption of CO₂ and NH₃ at a Cu(100) surface at low temperatures; a mechanism is suggested involving the nucleophilic attack of ammonia at the positively polarised carbon atom of a transient CO₂^–(s) species.