Abstract
We present the design and performance of a homebuilt high-pressure and high-temperature reactor
equipped with a high-resolution scanning tunneling microscope STM for catalytic studies. In this
design, the STM body, sample, and tip are placed in a small high pressure reactor 19 cm3
located within an ultrahigh vacuum UHV chamber. A sealable port on the wall of the reactor
separates the high pressure environment in the reactor from the vacuum environment of the STM
chamber and permits sample transfer and tip change in UHV. A combination of a sample transfer
arm, wobble stick, and sample load-lock system allows fast transfer of samples and tips between the
preparation chamber, high pressure reactor, and ambient environment. This STM reactor can work
as a batch or flowing reactor at a pressure range of 10−13 to several bars and a temperature range of
300–700 K. Experiments performed on two samples both in vacuum and in high pressure conditions
demonstrate the capability of in situ investigations of heterogeneous catalysis and surface chemistry
at atomic resolution at a wide pressure range from UHV to a pressure higher than 1 atm.
Description
This is the published version. Copyright 2008 American Institute of Physics