Adsorbate symmetry and Fermi resonances of methoxide adsorbed on Mo(110) as studied by surface infrared spectroscopy

Abstract
It is conclusively demonstrated using surface infrared spectroscopy, in combination with selective isotopic labeling, that methoxy coordinates with C3v symmetry on Mo(110), at coverages below 0.17 ML. The existence of intense Fermi resonances in the C-H stretch region of adsorbed CH3O is firmly established. By application of these observations to previous studies of methoxy on the low-index planes of copper and nickel, the disparity between the adsorbate geometry predicted by infrared spectroscopy and that deduced from photoelectron studies is removed.