Single Molecule Imaging of Oxygenation of Cobalt Octaethylporphyrin at the Solution/Solid Interface: Thermodynamics from Microscopy

For the first time, the pressure and temperature dependence of a chemical reaction at the solid/solution interface is studied by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), and thermodynamic data are derived. In particular, the STM is used to study the reversible binding of O2 with cobalt(II) octaethylporphyrin (CoOEP) supported on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) at the phenyloctane/CoOEP/HOPG interface. The adsorption is shown to follow the Langmuir isotherm with P1/2298K = 3200 Torr. Over the temperature range of 10–40 °C, it was found that ΔHP = −68 ± 10 kJ/mol and ΔSP = −297 ± 30 J/(mol K). The enthalpy and entropy changes are slightly larger than expected based on solution-phase reactions, and possible origins of these differences are discussed. The big surprise here is the presence of any O2 binding at room temperature, since CoOEP is not expected to bind O2 in fluid solution. The stability of the bound oxygen is attributed to charge donation from the graphite substrate to the cobalt, thereby sta...