Density functional theory investigation of CN on Cu(1 1 1), Ni(1 1 1) and Ni(1 0 0)

The adsorption of CN on Cu(1 1 1), Ni(1 1 1) and Ni(1 0 0) has been investigated using density functional theory (DFT). While experimental studies of CN on Cu(1 1 1) show the molecular axis to be essentially parallel to the surface, the normally-preferred DFT approach using the generalised gradient approximation (GGA) yields a lowest energy configuration with the C-N axis perpendicular to the surface, although calculations using the local density approximation (LDA) do indicate that the experimental geometry is energetically favoured. The same conclusions are found for CN on Ni(1 1 1); on both surfaces bonding through the N atom is always unfavourable, in contrast to some earlier published results of ab initio calculations for Ni(1 1 1)/CN and Ni(1 0 0)/CN. The different predictions of the GGA and LDA approaches may lie in subtly different relative energies of the CN 5σ and 1π orbitals, a situation somewhat similar to that for CO adsorbed on Pt(1 1 1) which has proved challenging for DFT calculations. On Ni(1 0 0) GGA calculations favour a lying-down species in a hollow site in a geometry rather similar to that found experimentally and in GGA calculations for CN on Ni(1 1 0).     

Theoretical study of CO and Pb adsorption on the Ni(1 1 1) and Ni3Al(1 1 1) surfaces

Adsorption of CO molecules and Pb atoms on the Ni(1 1 1) and Ni₃Al(1 1 1) substrates is studied theoretically within an ab initio density-functional-theory approach. Stable adsorption sites and the corresponding adsorption energies are first determined for stoichiometric surfaces. The three-fold hollow sites (fcc for Pb and hcp for CO) are found most favourable on both substrates. Next, the effect of surface alloying by a substitution of selected topmost substrate atoms by Pb or Ni atoms on the adsorption characteristics is investigated. When the surface Al atoms of the Ni₃Al(1 1 1) substrate are replaced by Ni atoms, the Pb and CO adsorption energies approach those for a pure Ni(1 1 1) substrate. The Pb alloying has a more substantial effect. On the Ni₃Al(1 1 1) substrate, it reduces considerably adsorption energy of CO. On the Ni(1 1 1) substrate, CO binding strengthens slightly upon the formation of the Ni(1 1 1)p(2×2)-Pb surface alloy, whereas it weakens drastically when the Ni(1 1 1)-Pb surface alloy is formed.     

Surface and subsurface oxide formation on Ni(1 0 0) and Ni(1 1 1)

The oxidation of Ni(1 0 0) and Ni(1 1 1) at elevated temperatures and large oxygen exposures, typical of the methods used in the preparation of NiO(1 0 0) films for surface studies, has been investigated by medium energy ion scattering (MEIS) using 100 keV H⁺ incident ions. Oxide film growth proceeds significantly faster on Ni(1 1 1) than on Ni(1 0 0), but on both surfaces oxide penetration occurs to depths significantly greater than 100 Å with total exposures of 1200 and 6000 L respectively. The metal/oxide interface is extremely rough, with metallic Ni extending to the surface, even for much thicker oxide films on Ni(1 1 1). On Ni(1 1 1), NiO growth occurs with the (1 0 0) face parallel to the Ni(1 1 1) surface and the close-packed 〈1 1 0〉 directions parallel. On Ni(1 0 0) the MEIS blocking curves cannot be reconciled with a single orientation of NiO(1 0 0) (with the 〈1 1 0〉 directions parallel) on the surface, but is consistent with the substantial orientational disorder (including tilt) previously identified by spot-profile analysis LEED.     

Water adsorption and dissociation on BeO(0 0 1) and (1 0 0) surfaces

Plateaus in water adsorption isotherms on hydroxylated BeO surfaces suggest significant differences between the hydroxylated (1 0 0) and (0 0 1) surface structures and reactivities. Density functional theory structures and energies clarify these differences. Using relaxed surface energies, a Wulff construction yields a prism crystal shape exposing long (1 0 0) sides and much smaller (0 0 1) faces. This is consistent with the BeO prisms observed when beryllium metal is oxidized. A water oxygen atom binds to a single surface beryllium ion in the preferred adsorption geometry on either surface. The water oxygen/beryllium bonding is stronger on the surface with greater beryllium atom exposure, namely the less-stable (0 0 1) surface. Water/beryllium coordination facilitates water dissociation. On the (0 0 1) surface, the dissociation products are a hydroxide bridging two beryllium ions and a metal-coordinated hydride with some surface charge depletion. On the (1 0 0) surface, water dissociates into a hydroxide ligating a Be atom and a proton coordinated to a surface oxygen but the lowest energy water state on the (1 0 0) surface is the undissociated metal-coordinated water. The (1 0 0) fully hydroxylated surface structure has a hydrogen bonding network which facilitates rapid proton shuffling within the network. The corresponding (0 0 1) hydroxylated surface is fairly open and lacks internal hydrogen bonding. This supports previous experimental interpretations of the step in water adsorption isotherms. Further, when the (1 0 0) surface is heated to 1000 K, hydroxides and protons associate and water desorbs. The more open (0 0 1) hydroxylated surface is stable at 1000 K. This is consistent with the experimental disappearance of the isotherm step when heating to 973 K.     

Sulfur poisoning of the CO adsorption on Co(0 0 0 1)

CO adsorption on a sulfur covered cobalt surface at 185 K has been studied using XPS, TDS, LEED, and WF measurements. As in the case of CO adsorption on the clean Co(0 0 0 1) surface, CO adsorbs and desorbs molecularly and no dissociation was observed. The saturation coverage of CO decreases linearly from 0.54 ML to 0.27 ML when the S pre-coverage increases to 0.25 ML. The WF increased during CO adsorption, but did not reach the value obtained for CO adsorption on the clean surface. The smaller work function change is explained by the reduced adsorption of CO on the sulfur-precovered surface. A reduction in the activation energy of desorption for CO from 113 kJ/mol to 88 kJ/mol was observed indicating weaker bonding of the CO molecules to the surface. The behavior of the CO/S/Co(0 0 0 1) system was explained by a combination of steric and electronic effects.     

Initial growth of platinum on oxygen-covered Ni(1 1 0) surfaces

The initial growth of Pt on the Ni(1 1 0)-(3 × 1)-O and NiO(1 1 0) surfaces has been studied by coaxial impact collision ion scattering spectroscopy (CAICISS), low energy electron diffraction (LEED) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Prior to Pt deposition, the atomic structure of the near-surface regions of the Ni(1 1 0)-(3 × 1)-O and NiO(1 1 0) structures were studied using CAICISS, finding changes to the interlayer spacings due to the adsorption of oxygen. Deposition of Pt on the Ni(1 1 0)-(3 × 1)-O surface led to a random substitutional alloy in the near-surface region at Pt coverages both below and in excess of 1 ML. In contrast, when the surface was treated with 1800 L of atomic oxygen in order to form a NiO(1 1 0) surface, a thin Pt layer was formed upon room temperature Pt deposition. XPS and LEED data are presented throughout to support the CAICISS observations.     

CO methanation on Ni(1 1 1) and modified Ni3Al(1 1 1) surfaces: A first-principle study

The adsorption energies of intermediates in CO methanation on the modified Ni₃Al(1 1 1) surface and the Ni(1 1 1) surface are calculated using density functional theory. A microkinetic analysis based on the calculated adsorption energies is performed to explain the different kinetics of CO methanation catalyzed by Ni₃Al and Ni powders. The electronic structures of different atoms on the modified Ni₃Al surface are also presented, and correlate well with the adsorption energies and geometries.     

A density functional study of atomic oxygen and water molecule adsorption on Ni(1 1 1) and chromium-substituted Ni(1 1 1) surfaces

Density functional theory (DFT) for generalized gradient approximation calculations has been used to study the adsorption of atomic oxygen and water molecules on Ni(1 1 1) and different kind of Ni-Cr(1 1 1) surfaces. The fcc hollow site is energetically the most favorable for atomic oxygen adsorption and on top site is favorable for water adsorption. The Ni-Cr surface has the highest absorption energy for oxygen at 6.86 eV, followed by the hcp site, whereas the absorption energy is 5.56 eV for the Ni surface. The Ni-O bond distance is 1.85 Å for the Ni surface. On the other hand, the result concerning the Ni-Cr surface implies that the bond distances are 1.93-1.95 Å and 1.75 Å for Ni-O and Cr-O, respectively. The surface adsorption energy for water on top site for two Cr atom substituted Ni-Cr surface is 0.85 eV. Oxygen atoms prefer to bond with Cr rather than Ni atoms. Atomic charge analysis demonstrates that charge transfer increases due to the addition of Cr. Moreover, a local density of states (LDOS) study examines the hybridization occurring between the metal d orbital and the oxygen p orbital; the bonding is mainly ionic, and water bonds weakly in both cases.     

The influence of hydrogen on the electronic and magnetic structures of TM(0 0 1) (TM=Fe, Co, Ni, and Cu) surfaces and interfaces: Ab-initio calculations

We present ab-initio investigation of the electronic and magnetic structure of TM(0 0 1) surfaces and TM/Cu(0 0 1) systems (TM=Fe, Co, Ni, Cu) with and without hydrogen adsorbed layer. The adsorption energy of hydrogen atom is found to be energetically more stable above the surface layer of Ni(0 0 1) surface than other TM(0 0 1) surfaces. The adsorption energies of hydrogen on TM/Cu(0 0 1) systems are larger than those on TM(0 0 1) surfaces. The relaxed geometries show that hydrogen has a strong influence on the interlayer distance. Furthermore, a marked reduction of Fe, Co, and Ni surface magnetic moments to 2.54, 1.41 and 0.25 μ_B, respectively, is obtained due to the presence of hydrogen.     

A first-principles study of C + O reaction on NiCo(1 1 1) surface

A density-functional theory method has been conducted to investigate the association of C + O on (1 1 1) facets of ordered NiCo alloy and the results have been compared with those obtained on pure Ni(1 1 1) surface. In reaction of C + O, the favorable reaction path is that C adsorbed on HCP-1 site moves to the nearest Ni-Co bridge site, and associates with O migrating from FCC-1 site to result in CO adsorbed on the bridge site of Ni-Co. However, the reaction barrier is higher by 0.35 eV than that on pure Ni(1 1 1), which indicates that the incorporation of Co into the Ni crystal is not in favor of the reaction of carbon delimination.     

Effects of metal-support interactions on the electronic structures of metal atoms adsorbed on the perfect and defective MgO(1 0 0) surfaces

The electronic structures of Ni, Pd, Pt, Cu, and Zn atoms adsorbed on the perfect MgO(1 0 0) surface and on a surface oxygen vacancy have been studied at the DFT/B3LYP level of theory using both the bare cluster and embedded cluster models. Ni, Pd, Pt, and Cu atoms can form stable adsorption complexes on the regular O site of the perfect MgO(1 0 0) surface with the binding energies of 19.0, 25.2, 46.7, and 17.3 kcal/mol, respectively, despite very little electron transfer between the surface and the metal atoms. On the other hand, adsorptions of Ni, Pd, Pt, and Cu atoms show strong interaction with an oxygen vacancy on the MgO(1 0 0) surface by transferring a significant number of electron charges from the vacancy to the adsorbed metal atoms and thus forming ionic bonds with the vacancy site. These interactions on the vacancy site for Ni, Pd, Pt, and Cu atoms increase the binding energies by 25.8, 59.7, 85.2, and 19.1 kcal/mol, respectively, compared to those on the perfect surface. Zn atom interacts very weakly with the perfect surface as well as the surface oxygen vacancy. We observed that the interaction increases from Ni to Pt in the same group and decreases from Ni to Zn in the same transition metal period in both perfect and vacancy systems. These relationships correlate well with the degrees of electron transfer from the surface to the adsorbed metal atom. The changes in the ionization potentials of the surface also correlate with the adsorption energies or degrees of electron transfers. Madelung potential is found to have significant effects on the electronic properties of metal atom adsorptions on the MgO(1 0 0) surface as well as on an oxygen vacancy, though it is more so for the latter. Furthermore, the Madelung potential facilitates electron transfer from the surface to the adsorbed metal atoms but not in the other direction.     

In situ STM study of nanosized Ru and Os islands spontaneously deposited on Pt(1 1 1) and Au(1 1 1) electrodes

We provide an overview of structure and reactivity of selected bimetallic single crystal electrodes obtained by the method of spontaneous deposition. The surfaces that are described and compared are the following: Au(1 1 1)/Ru, Pt(1 1 1)/Ru and Pt(1 1 1)/Os. Detailed morphological information is presented and the significance of this work in current and further study of nanoisland covered surfaces in the catalytic and spectroscopic perspective is highlighted. All surfaces were investigated by in situ STM and by electroanalytical techniques. The results confirm our previous data that nanosized Ru islands are formed with specific and distinctive structural features, and that the Ru growth pattern is different for Au(1 1 1) and Pt(1 1 1). For Au(1 1 1), Ru is preferentially deposited on steps, while a random and relatively sparse distribution of Ru islands is observed on terraces. In contrast, for Ru deposited on Pt(1 1 1), a homogeneous deposition over all the Pt(1 1 1) surface was found. Os is also deposited homogeneously, and at a much higher rate than Ru, and even within a single deposition it forms a large proportion of multilayer islands. On Au(1 1 1), the Ru islands on both steps and terraces reach the saturation coverage within a short deposition time, and the Ru islands grow to multilayer heights and assume hexagonal shapes. On Pt(1 1 1), the Ru saturation coverage is reached relatively fast, but when a single deposition is applied, Ru nanoislands of mainly monoatomic height are formed, with the Ru coverage not exceeding 0.2 ML. For Ru deposits on Pt(1 1 1), we demonstrate that larger and multilayer islands obtained in two consecutive depositions can be reduced in size--both in height and width--by oxidizing the Ru islands and then by reducing them back to a metallic state. A clear increase in the Ru island dispersion is then obtained. However, methanol oxidation chronoamperometry shows that the surface with such a higher dispersion is less active to methanol oxidation than the initial surface. A preliminary interpretation of this effect is provided. Finally, we studied CO stripping reaction on Pt(1 1 1)/Ru, Au(1 1 1)/Ru and on Pt(1 1 1)/Os. We relate CO oxidation differences observed between Pt(1 1 1)/Ru and Pt(1 1 1)/Os to the difference in the oxophilicity of the two admetals. In turn, the difference in the CO stripping reaction on Pt(1 1 1)/Ru and Au(1 1 1)/Ru with respect to the Ru islands is linked to the effect of the substrate on the bond strength and/or adlayer structure of CO and OH_ads species.     

Theoretical study of Ni adsorption on the GaN(0 0 0 1) surface

First-principles pseudo-potential calculations within density-functional theory framework are performed in order to study the structural and electronic properties of nickel adsorption and diffusion on a GaN(0 0 0 1)-2×2 surface. The adsorption energies and potential energy surfaces are investigated for a Ni adatom on the Ga-terminated (0 0 0 1) surface of GaN. This surface is also used to study the effect of the nickel surface coverage. The results show that the most stable positions of a Ni adatom on GaN(0 0 0 1) are at the H₃ sites and T₄ sites, for low and high Ni coverage respectively. In addition, confirming previous experimental results, we have found that the growth of Ni monolayers on the GaN(0 0 0 1) surface is possible.     

Alkali adsorption on Ni(1 1 1) and their coadsorption with CO and O

The adsorption of alkalis (Na, K) on Ni(1 1 1) and their coadsorption with CO and O were studied by high-resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy. Loss measurements of clean alkali adlayers provided the expected behaviour of the alkali-substrate vibration energy as a function of the alkali coverage. This result was achieved by eliminating any trace of CO contamination from the alkali adlayer. As a matter of fact, a significant softening of the alkali-Ni vibration energy was revealed in the alkali + CO coadsorbed phase. Moreover, alkali coadsorption with oxygen caused a weakening of the ONi bond and a strengthening of the alkaliNi bond.     

Improved growth and the spin reorientation transition of Ni on (√2×2√2)R45° reconstructed O/Cu(0 0 1)

Ni films between 1 and 20 monolayers (ML) thick are deposited at room temperature on clean and (√2×2√2)R45° reconstructed--via oxygen adsorption--Cu(0 0 1). A significant expansion of the out-of-plane Ni phase by about 5 ML is revealed by ferromagnetic resonance experiments. This shift of the spin reorientation transition is attributed to a huge change of about 90 μeV/atom in the surface anisotropy due to the presence of half a monolayer of oxygen atoms on the top of Ni. Furthermore, the growth of Ni on the preoxidized Cu surface is found to be closer to the layer-by-layer one as compared to the growth on the clean Cu(0 0 1) due to the presence of oxygen which acts as a surfactant.     

The surface stress of the (1 1 0) and (1 0 0) surfaces of rutile and the effect of water adsorbents

The surface stress on clean TiO₂ (1 1 0) and (1 0 0) surfaces, and those with four types of adsorbent - (i) molecularly adsorbed water, (ii) dissociatively adsorbed water, (iii) dissociatively adsorbed water at an oxygen vacancy, and (iv) adsorbed hydrogen - was investigated in the framework of density functional theory using a slab model. The calculations were intended to rationalize the effect of the artificially introduced stress that occurs in experimentally photoinduced hydrophilicity. Tensile stress was observed for a clean (1 1 0) surface, and a mixture of tensile and compressive stress for a clean (1 0 0) surface. The adsorbate-induced surface stresses were analyzed in terms of the sixfold coordinated character of the surface titanium atoms, hydrogen bonds between the adsorbents and the bridging oxygen atoms, and the change in electron density in the vicinity of the surface.     

Fourfold in-plane magnetic anisotropy in epitaxial Fe(1 1 0)/Cu(0 0 1) and Fe(1 1 0)/Ni(0 0 1) bilayers

Epitaxial Fe(1 1 0) films with thicknesses of 100-800 nm on Cu(0 0 1) and Ni(0 0 1) buffer layers grown on MgO(0 0 1) substrates have been fabricated. These films contain Fe(1 1 0) crystallites which are in the Pitsch orientation relationship. Magnetization and the fourfold in-plane magnetic anisotropy constants of these films have been determined by torque measurements. All the samples under study are characterized by a fourfold magnetic anisotropy with easy axes parallel to the [1 0 0] and [0 1 0] directions of Cu(0 0 1) and Ni(0 0 1) layers. The measured values of the constant for Fe(1 1 0)/Cu(0 0 1) are found to depend on deposition temperature; a maximum value of (2.5±0.1)×10⁵ erg/cm³ is reached after annealing at 600 °С. The in-plane torque measurements on Fe(1 1 0)/Ni(0 0 1) bilayers obtained at 300 °С, on the other hand, exhibit a constant value of (2.7±0.1)×10⁵ erg/cm³. Assuming an exchange interaction between the Fe(1 1 0) crystallites, which are in the Pitsch orientation relationship, the fourfold in-plane magnetic anisotropy has been calculated as 2.8×10⁵ erg/cm³. The deviations of the experimental values from the predicted one may be explained by the formation of a polycrystalline phase within the Fe(1 1 0) layer and a partial disorientation of the epitaxial crystallites.     

Initial stages of the autocatalytic oxidation of the InAs(0 0 1)-(4 × 2)/c(8 × 2) surface by molecular oxygen

The initial stages of oxidation of the In-rich InAs(0 0 1)-(4 × 2)/c(8 × 2) surface by molecular oxygen (O₂) were studied using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and density functional theory (DFT). It was shown that the O₂ dissociatively chemisorbs along the rows in the [1 1 0] direction on the InAs surface either by displacing the row-edge As atoms or by inserting between In atoms on the rows. The dissociative chemisorption is consistent with being autocatalytic: there is a high tendency to form oxygen chemisorption sites which grow in length along the rows in the [1 1 0] direction at preexisting oxygen chemisorption sites. The most common site size is about 21-24 Å in length at ∼25% ML coverage, representing 2-3 unit cell lengths in the [1 1 0] direction (the length of ∼5-6 In atoms on the row). The autocatalysis was confirmed by modeling the site distribution as non-Poisson. The autocatalysis and the low sticking probability (∼10⁻⁴) of O₂ on the InAs(0 0 1)-(4 × 2)/c(8 × 2) are consistent with activated dissociative chemisorption. The results show that is it critical to protect the InAs surface from oxygen during subsequent atomic layer deposition (ALD) or molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) oxide growth since oxygen will displace As atoms.     

Phase mixing and phase separation accompanying the catalytic oxidation of CO on Ir{1 0 0}

The co-adsorption of CO and O on the unreconstructed (1 × 1) phase of Ir{1 0 0} was examined by low energy electron diffraction (LEED) and temperature programmed desorption (TPD). When CO is adsorbed at 188 K onto the Ir{1 0 0} surface precovered with 0.5 ML O, a mixed c(4 × 2)-(2O + CO) overlayer is formed. All CO is oxidised upon heating and desorbs as CO₂ in three distinct stages at 230 K, 330 K and 430 K in a 2:1:2 ratio. The excess oxygen left on the surface after all CO has reacted forms an overlayer with a LEED pattern with p(2 × 10) periodicity. This overlayer consists of stripes with a local p(2 × 1)-O arrangement of oxygen atoms separated by stripes of uncovered Ir. When CO is adsorbed at 300 K onto the surface precovered with 0.5 ML O an apparent (2 × 2) LEED pattern is observed. LEED IV analysis reveals that this pattern is a superposition of diffraction patterns from islands of c(2 × 2)-CO and p(2  × 1)-O structures on the surface. Heating this co-adsorbed overlayer leads to the desorption of CO₂ in two stages at 330 K and 430 K; the excess CO (0.1 ML) desorbs at 590 K.LEED IV structural analysis of the mixed c(4 × 2) O and CO overlayer shows that both the CO molecules and the O atoms occupy bridge sites. The O atoms show significant lateral displacements of 0.14 Å away from the CO molecules; the C-O bond is slightly expanded with respect to the gas phase (1.19 Å); the modifications of the Ir substrate with respect to the bulk-terminated surface are very small.