Growth and Atomic-Scale Characterization of Ultrathin Silica and Germania Films: The Crucial Role of the Metal Support |
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| Authors: | Dr. Adrián Leandro Lewandowski Dr. Sergio Tosoni Leonard Gura Dr. Zechao Yang Dr. Alexander Fuhrich Dr. Mauricio J. Prieto Dr. Thomas Schmidt Dr. Denis Usvyat Prof. Wolf-Dieter Schneider Dr. Markus Heyde Prof. Gianfranco Pacchioni Prof. Hans-Joachim Freund |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Fritz-Haber-Institut der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Faradayweg 4–6, 14195 Berlin, Germany;2. Department of Materials Science, Universitá di Milano-Bicocca, Via R. Cozzi, 55, 20125 Milan, Italy;3. Institut für Chemie, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Brook-Taylor-Str. 2, 12489 Berlin, Germany |
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| Abstract: | The present review reports on the preparation and atomic-scale characterization of the thinnest possible films of the glass-forming materials silica and germania. To this end state-of-the-art surface science techniques, in particular scanning probe microscopy, and density functional theory calculations have been employed. The investigated films range from monolayer to bilayer coverage where both, the crystalline and the amorphous films, contain characteristic XO4 (X=Si,Ge) building blocks. A side-by-side comparison of silica and germania monolayer, zigzag phase and bilayer films supported on Mo(112), Ru(0001), Pt(111), and Au(111) leads to a more general comprehension of the network structure of glass former materials. This allows us to understand the crucial role of the metal support for the pathway from crystalline to amorphous ultrathin film growth. |
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| Keywords: | amorphous structures crystalline materials germania metal-supported films silica |
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