Expanding the Reaction Network of Ethylene Epoxidation on Partially Oxidized Silver Catalysts

An extended microkinetic model (MKM) for the selective oxidation of ethylene to ethylene oxide (EO) is presented, based on an oxidic representation of the silver (Ag) surface, namely, the p(4 × 4) oxidic reconstruction of the Ag(111) phase to mimic the significant oxygen coverage under reaction conditions, as is evidenced by recent operando spectroscopic studies. The MKM features three pathways each for producing either ethylene oxide (EO) or carbon dioxide (CO