Hydrogen Adsorption and Oissociation on the Ni(511) Stepped Surface

The adsorption and dissociation of hydrogen on stepped surface (511) of nickel are studied with the embedded-atom model (EAM) method. The adsorption energy, the length of the adsorption bond and the adsorption height for a single hydrogen atom are calculated. Three kinds of stable sites are found for hydrogen adsorption. There are the double-fold bridge site B on the step edge, the three-fold hollow site H3′ on the step surface and the four-fold hollow sites H1 and H2 on the terrace surface. Compared with a hydrogen atom adsorbed on low-index (001) surface, there are two other adsorption sites near the step: the two-fold bridge site B on the step edge and the three-fold hollow site H3′ on the step surface. At the same time, the absorbability of the hydrogen atom at the site H1 is intensified. The results show that hydrogen adsorption on Ni (511) is affected by the existence of the step. The active barriers, adsorption energy and corresponding bond length for dissociation of a hydrogen molecule on the stepped surface are presented. The results show that the dissociation is easier at the bottom of the step. It is shown that the steps are the active sites for hydrogen adsorption and dissociation.