Anomalous CO Saturation at 26% on Cu(111) Governed by Long-range Collective Quantum Compression

Anomalous CO Saturation at 26% on Cu(111) Governed by Long-range Collective Quantum Compression | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Anomalous CO Saturation at 26% on Cu(111) Governed by Long-range Collective Quantum Compression Nan Yao, Pengcheng Chen, Dingxin Fan, Annabella Selloni, Jianqing Fan This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5738188/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract CO adsorption on transition metal surfaces has been extensively studied for over a century. However, the challenge known as the CO puzzle persists due to the failure of density functional theory and a lack of extensive high-quality experimental data. This study investigates CO adsorption on Cu(111) using statistical analysis of atomic-resolution images. We observe a counterintuitive conservation of surface CO coverage, which remains constant at 26%, significantly lower than the theoretical maximum, regardless of patterns and temperature. We attribute this anomaly to surface-mediated collective quantum compression, which refers to enhanced localization of surface electrons as CO coverage increases, weakening the Cu-CO binding strength. We determine the effective radius of these long-range interactions as 5.3 nm, far exceeding the spatial range of direct C-Cu interactions. Our work provides new insights into the CO puzzle , advancing the understanding of adsorption phenomena and offering implications for surface chemistry and interfacial science. Physical sciences/Chemistry/Theoretical chemistry/Density functional theory Physical sciences/Chemistry/Surface chemistry/Scanning probe microscopy Physical sciences/Chemistry/Chemical engineering Physical sciences/Chemistry/Physical chemistry/Chemical physics Physical sciences/Chemistry/Catalysis/Heterogeneous catalysis Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Supplementary Files MagicadsorptionpaperSupp12302024NatureChemDF.docx Anomalous CO Saturation at 26% on Cu(111) Governed by Long-range Collective Quantum Compression Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-5738188","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":405196004,"identity":"8a1c7e46-cbb8-4f44-8957-67a3384357fc","order_by":0,"name":"Nan 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