Formation and properties of surface phosphide on rhenium

The adsorption of PCl$_3$ molecules on (10$\bar1$0)Re was studied in a wide temperature range of 300–2000 K. It was shown that at room temperature PCl$_3$ molecules are chemisorbed on the surface, apparently in a partially dissociated form. At $T\sim$ 800 K, thermal desorption of chlorine begins, and at $T >$ 1100 K, only phosphorus remains on the surface. When PCl$_3$ is adsorbed in the range $T$ = 1100–1200 K, a surface compound with ReP stoichiometry is formed. The surface compound begins to decompose at 1200 K as a result of thermal desorption; P atoms finally leave the rhenium surface at $T\approx$ 1850 K, which corresponds to a change in the desorption activation energy from 3.3 eV to 5.1 eV.