In this work, the behavior of Zr(0001) exposed to benzene (C6H6) and deuterated methanol (CD3OD) is discussed. Relatively simple surface kinetics for the C6H6/Zr(0001) and CD3OD/Zr(0001) systems are observed, with only molecular desorption detected in thermal desorption experiments. We attribute this to the presence of a passivating layer of carbon formed by the initial decomposition of these species on the reactive Zr(0001) surface. Following adsorption at 150 K, benzene desorbs at about 715 K, whereas methanol desorbs near 600 K. An increase in adsorption temperature of 20 K for C6H6 and of 10 K for CD3OD lowers desorption yields significantly. An increase in surface oxygen is observed by Auger electron spectroscopy (AES) after exposure to benzene, possibly due to surface-carbon/subsurface-oxygen exchange. AES indicates that carbon stays in the near-surface region after thermal desorption, but that oxygen diffuses into the bulk in both cases. (C) 2004 American Vacuum Society.