Adsorption, activation, and dissociation of oxygen on doped oxides.

Charge transfer in the presence of dopants is relevant for the adorption and activation of small molecules, such as O2 . Scanning tunneling microscopy and DFT calculations provide evidence for the formation of strongly bound superoxo species on chemically inert, Mo-doped CaO films. This oxygen surface species shows a high propensity to dissociate. Dopants could also be important for the activation of hydrocarbons on inert oxides.