Adsorption of gold on oxidized tungsten

The kinetics of adsorption and desorption of gold atoms from the surface of a thin (<2 nm) oxide film grown on a textured W ribbon with the preferred emergence of the (100) face is studied using termal desorption spectrometry in a wide range of coatings. A single desorption phase is observed in the spectra of termal desorption of Au atoms from oxidized W. The activation energy of desorption of Au atoms from tungsten oxides is lower than the gold sublimation heat (it amounts to E = 3.1 eV for the concentration of adsorbate atoms on the surface corresponding to coverage θ _s = 2.38). The gold film on oxidized tungsten at room temperature grows in the form of 3D islands. The sticking coefficient for gold atoms at T = 300 K is close to unity in the coverage range 0.5 < θ _s < 2.5.