A LEED, TPD and HREELS investigation of NO adsorption on Sn/Pt(111) surface alloys

The adsorption of NO on Pt(111), and the (2 × 2)Sn/Pt(111) and (√3 × √3)R30°Sn/Pt(111) surface alloys has been studied using LEED, TPD and HREELS. NO adsorption produces a (2 × 2) LEED pattern on Pt(111) and a (2√3 × 2√3)R30° LEED pattern on the (2 × 2)Sn/Pt(111) surface. The initial sticking coefficient of NO on the (2 × 2)Sn/Pt(111) surface alloy at 100 K is the same as that on Pt(111), S₀ = 0.9, while the initial sticking coefficient of NO on the (√3 × √3)R30°Sn/Pt(111) surface decreases to 0.6. The presence of Sn in the surface layer of Pt(111) strongly reduces the binding energy of NO in contrast to the minor effect it has on CO. The binding energy of β-state NO is reduced by 8–10 kcal/mol on the Sn/Pt(111) surface alloys compared to Pt(111). HREELS data for saturation NO coverage on both surface alloys show two vibrational frequencies at 285 and 478 cm⁻¹ in the low frequency range and only one N-O stretching frequency at 1698 cm⁻¹. We assign this NO species as atop, bent-bonded NO. At small NO coverage, a species with a loss at 1455 cm⁻¹ was also observed on the (2 × 2)Sn/ Pt(111) surface alloy, similar to that observed on the Pt(111) surface. However, the atop, bent-bonded NO is the only species observed on the (√3 × √3)R30°Sn/Pt(111) surface alloy at any NO coverage studied.     

Strain analysis of epitaxial ultrathin films on Pt(111)

X-ray photoelectron diffraction (XPD) measurements have demonstrated that Ni ultrathin films on Pt(111) exhibit a single domain fcc stacking pseudomorphic to the substrate, with a consequent trigonal distortion of the Ni unit cell in order to accommodate the in-plane expansion of the Ni lattice parameter of about 11% with respect to its bulk value. We show that the amount of interlayer contraction and the strain energy resulting form the trigonal distortion are very well predicted by a strain analysis in the framework of simple linear elasticity theory. Strain analysis also allows to discuss in some detail the controversial case of Co growth on the same substrate. Finally, we discuss the dependence of the strain energy of the overlayer on the substrate crystal orientation and its effects on chemisorption experiments performed on heteroepitaxial monolayers (HML).     

Impurity effect on surface states of Bi(111) ultrathin films

The surface impurity effect on the surface-state conductivity and weak antilocalization(WAL) effect has been investigated in epitaxial Bi(111) films by magnetotransport measurements at low temperatures. The surface-state conductivity is significantly reduced by the surface impurities of Cu, Fe, and Co. The magnetotransport data demonstrate that the observed WAL is robust against deposition of nonmagnetic impurities, but it is quenched by the deposition of magnetic impurities which break the time reversal symmetry. Our results help to shed light on the effect of surface impurities on the electron and spin transport properties of a 2D surface electron systems.     

Growth mechanism and structure of ultrathin palladium films formed by deposition on Mo(100)

The growth mechanism, structure and thermal stability of monolayer and ultrathin Pd films formed by vapor deposition on Mo(100) were studied using AES, LEED, and TPD. Pd film growth at 150 K is described well by a Frank-van der Merwe (FM) or layer-by-layer growth mechanism with a small amount of layer disorder and/or non-ideal layering. The Pd monolayer is pseudomorphic with the Mo(100) substrate lattice as shown by LEED. Pd films deposited on Mo(100) at 450 and 600 K grow by forming three-dimensional (3D) islands on top of an initially formed Pd monolayer, i.e., a Stranski-Krastanov growth mode. Alloying could also explain the AES curves at these temperatures. Thermal desorption of Pd from multilayer films begins at 1250 K with an activation energy of 100 kcal/mol. This is 7 kcal/mol higher than the bulk sublimation energy of palladium due to interaction with the molybdenum substrate and was observed for films as thick as 20 layers. Pd desorption is kinetically limited by decomposition of a Pd-Mo alloy and/or diffusion of Pd from the subsurface layers of Mo to the surface. Annealing studies show that the Pd monolayer is stable to 1200 K, but that agglomeration of Pd into 3D islands and possibly alloy formation occurs upon heating thicker films above 400 K.     

LEED crystallographic analysis for the structure formed by 2 ML of O at the Zr(0001) surface

A tensor LEED analysis is reported for the Zr(0001)-(1 × 1)-O surface which involves oxygen at a total coverage of 2 monolayers. The structure is indicated to have two layers of O: one forms an overlayer in which the O atoms bond to hollow sites of three-fold coordination on the regular metal surface, while the other layer has the O atoms in tetrahedral hole sites between the first and second metal layers. The stacking sequence, designated as (C)B(A)AB... corresponds to the first three layers of anion-terminated cubic ZrO₂, although some lateral compression is needed for superposition on the regular hcp Zr structure. The absorption of O in the tetrahedral holes results in a significant expansion in the first-to-second Zr---Zr interlayer spacing to about 3.44 Å from the bulk vaue of 2.57 Å. The O---Zr bond lengths are estimated to equal 2.07 Å for the overlayer O atoms, and 2.21 Å for the O atoms in tetrahedral hole sites. Comparisons are made with the structures of the corresponding 0.5 and 1 ML surfaces formed by the O/Zr(0001) system.     

A temperature programmed desorption study of the reaction of methylacetylene on Pt(111) and Sn/Pt(111) surface alloys

The adsorption and reaction of methylacetylene (H₃CC≡CH) on Pt(111) and the p(2×2) and

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surface alloys were investigated with temperature programmed desorption, Auger electron spectroscopy and low energy electron diffraction. Hydrogenation of methylacetylene to form propylene is the most favored reaction pathway on all three surfaces accounting for ca 20% of the adsorbed monolayer. Addition of Sn to the Pt(111) surface to form these two ordered surface alloys suppresses the decomposition of methylacetylene to surface carbon. The alloy surfaces also greatly increase the amount of reversibly adsorbed methylacetylene, from none on Pt(111) to 60% of the adsorbed layer on the

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surface alloy. Methylacetylene reaction also leads to a small amount of desorption of benzene, along with butane, butene, isobutylene and ethylene. There is some difference in the yield of these other reaction products depending the Sn concentration, with the (2×2)-Sn/Pt(111) surface alloy having the highest selectivity for these. Despite previous experiments showing cyclotrimerization of acetylene to form benzene on the Pt–Sn surface alloys, the analogous reaction of methylacetylene on the alloy surfaces was not observed, that is, cyclotrimerization of methylacetylene to form trimethylbenzene. It is proposed that this and the high yield of propylene is due to facile dehydrogenation of methylacetylene because of the relatively weak H–CH₂CCH bond compared to acetylene. The desorption of several C₄ hydrocarbon products at low (<170 K) temperature indicates that some minor pathway involving C–C bond breaking is possible on these surfaces.     

A multitechnique surface science examination of Sn deposition on Pt(100)

Interfaces prepared by vapor deposition of Sn onto Pt(100) surfaces have been examined using the following techniques: Auger electron and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (AES and XPS), low-energy electron diffraction (LEED), and low-energy ion surface scattering (LEISS) with Ne⁺ ions. Tin deposition was conducted at 320 and 600 K, and the surface composition and order was examined as a function of further annealing to 1200 K. The AES uptake plots (signal versus deposition time) indicate that the Sn growth mode can be described by a layer-by-layer process only up to one adayer at 320 K. Some evidence of 3D growth is inferred from LEED and LEISS data for higher Sn coverages. For deposition at 600 K, AES data indicate significant interdiffusion and surface alloy formation. LEED observations (recorded at a substrate temperature of 320 K) show that the characteristic hexagonal Pt(100) reconstruction disappears with Sn exposures of 4.6 × 10¹⁴ atoms cm² (θ_Sn = 0.35 monolayer (ML)). Further Sn deposition results in a c(2 × 2) LEED pattern starting at a coverage of slightly above 0.5 ML. The c(2 × 2) LEED pattern becomes progressively more diffuse with increasing Sn exposure with eventual loss of all LEED features above 2.2 ML. Annealing experiments with various precoverages of Sn on Pt(100) are also described by AES, LEED, and LEISS results. For specific Sn precoverages and annealing conditions, c(2 × 2), p(3√2 × √2)R45°, and a combination of the two LEED patterns are observed. These ordered LEED patterns are suggested to arise from ordered PtSn surface alloys. In addition, the chemisorption of CO and O₂ at the ordered annealed Sn/Pt(100) surfaces was also examined using thermal desorption mass spectroscopy (TDMS), AES, and LEED.     

LEED crystallographic analysis for the Rh(111)-(2 × 1)---O surface structure

A tensor LEED analysis is reported for the Rh(111)-(2 × 1)---O surface structure in which atoms in the O overlayer chemisorb close to the regular (fcc type) three-fold hollow sites for half-monolayer coverage. The structure shows significant relaxations: for example, a buckling of about 0.07 Å is indicated in the first metal layer and O appears to displace laterally by about 0.05 Å. The individual O---Rh bond lengths are around 2.01 and 1.92 Å to top layer Rh atoms, which bond to two and one O atoms, respectively, but the average value (1.98 Å) is close to that in bulk RhO₂ (1.96 Å). Comparison is also made with the previously determined O---Rh bond lengths in the Rh(110)-p2mg(2 × 1) surface structure.     

Superlattices formed by electrodeposition of silver on iodine-pretreated Pt(111); studies by LEED,Auger spectroscopy and electrochemistry

Reported are studies by LEED and Auger spectroscopy of silver layers electrodeposited on well-characterized Pt(111) surfaces from aqueous solution. Prior to electrodeposition. the Pt(111) surface was treated with I₂ vapor to form the Pt(111) ($\text{7}\text{×}\text{7}$)R19.1°-I superlattice which protected the Pt and Ag surfaces from attack by the electrolyte and residual gases. Electrodeposition of silver occurred in four distinct ranges of electrode potential. Ordered layers having (3 × 3) and (18 × 18) (coincidence lattice) LEED patterns were formed at all coverages from the onset of deposition to the highest coverages studied, about twenty equivalent atomic layers. Formation of ordered Ag layers has therefore been demonstrated, at least for deposits of limited thickness. Auger spectra revealed that for deposits of a few atomic layers. The iodine layer remained attached to the surface during multiple cycles of electrodeposition and dissolution of silver from iodine-free solution. Each peak of the voltammetric current-potential scan produced a change in the LEED pattern.     

Symmetry extinction of LEED beams for naphthalene adsorbed on Pt(111)

The LEED pattern obtained for naphthalene on Pt(111) is well described by an ordering which consists of three equivalent domains of a (6 × 3) overlayer. The existence of a glide symmetry in the overiayer is confirmed by the angular dependence of the symmetry extinction of several LEED beams.     

Superlattices formed by interaction of hydrogen bromide and hydrogen chloride with Pt(111) and Pt(100) studied by LEED,Auger and thermal desorption mass spectroscopy

HBr and HCl react with Pt(111) and Pt(100) surfaces to form adsorbed layers consisting of specific mixtures of halogen atoms and hydrogen halide molecules. Exposure of Pt(111) to HBr yielded a (3×3) LEED pattern beginning at $\text{Θ}{}_{\mathrm{Br}}\text{=}\text{2}\text{9}$ and persisting at the maximum coverage which consisted of $\text{Θ}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>Br</mtext>}}\text{=}\text{1}\text{3}$ plus $\text{Θ}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>HBr</mtext>}}\text{=}\text{1}\text{9}$. The most probable structure at maximum coverage, Pt(111)[c(3 × 3)]-(3 Br + HBr), nas a rhombic unit cell encompassing nine surface Pt atoms, and containing three Br atoms and one HBr molecule. On Pt(100) the structure at maximum coverage appears to be Pt(100)[c(2√2 × √2)]R45°-(Br + HBr), $\text{Θ}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>Br</mtext>}}\text{= Θ}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>HBr</mtext>}}\text{=}\text{1}\text{4}$; the rectangular unit cell involves four Pt atoms, one Br atom and one HBr molecule. Each of these structures consists of an hexagonal array of adsorbed atoms or molecules, excepting slight distortion for best fit with the substrate in the case of Pt(100). Treatment of Pt(100) with HCl produced a diffuse Pt(100)(2 × 2)-(Cl + HCl) structure at the maximum coverage of Θ_Cl = 0.13, Θ_HCl = 0.11. Exposure of Pt(111) to HCl produced a disordered overlayer. Thermal desorption, Auger spectroscopy and mass spectroscopy provided coverage data. Thermal desorption data reveal prominent rate maxima associated with the structural transitions observed by LEED. Br and HBr, Cl and HCl were the predominant thermal desorption products.     

LEED and Auger investigations of Cu (111) surface

After ultrahigh vacuum bake-out, electropolished Cu (111) surfaces were shown by Auger analysis to be contaminated by C, N, O, S and Cl. Other than C and S, which were contained in the bulk, the impurities were introduced by surface preparation; but all were easily removed by light Ar ion bombardment. Heating to ≈ 750°C caused diffusion of C and S from the bulk to the extent that a clear diffraction pattern corresponding to a √7 × √7 structure was produced by S on the surface. At ≈ b 900°C evaporation of Cu occurred to an observable degree, and S and C could no longer be detected on the surface. Auger analysis of clean Cu surfaces showed many details of the LMM and MMM types of transitions. Kinetic energies of all observed Auger electrons were in excellent agreement with calculated values. Also, the ≈ 62 eV MMM peak was resolved into two components related to the small differences in the M₂ and M₃ energy levels. The LMM transitions were classified according to their intensities, which could be rationalized on the basis of Coster-Kronig transitions and transition probabilities, as L₃MM > L₂MM > L₁MM.     

Ultraviolet photoemission studies of acetylene and ethylene adsorptions on the Pt(111) surface: Correlations with LEED studies

The chemisorption of acetylene and ethylene on platinum (111) surfaces for T ≥ 300 K has been studied with ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) at 21.2 eV. An activated metastable-stable acetylene transition observed recently in low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) intensity-energy profiles has been seen with the UPS spectra. The upperlying electronic levels of the metastable acetylene state are related to a shifted gas-phase acetylene spectrum. The stable acetylene state appears to involve a stronger molecule-surface interaction and probable rehybridization, consistent with the LEED analysis showing the molecule to be situated in a triangular position at covalent Pt-C distances. Ethylene is founf to dehydrogenate at room temperature to the stable acetylene species on Pt(111) surfaces.     

Charging of metal adatoms on ultrathin oxide films: Au and Pd on FeO/Pt(111)

We present a combined experimental (STM/scanning tunneling spectroscopy) and theoretical (density functional theory) study on the deposition of Au and Pd metal atoms on FeO/Pt(111) ultrathin films. We show that while the Pd atoms are only slightly oxidized, the Au atoms form positive ions upon deposition, at variance to a charge transfer into the Au atoms as observed for MgO/Ag(100). The modulation of the adsorption properties within the surface Moiré cell and the charging induce the formation a self-assembled array of gold adatoms on FeO/Pt(111), whereas Pd atoms are randomly distributed.     

Magnetic properties of ultrathin Co films on Si (111)

Ultrathin cobalt films on clean (7×7) and Au covered Si (111) substrates were prepared by molecular beam epitaxy. The structure was studied by using scanning tunnelling microscopy and low energy electron diffraction. Magnetic properties were determined with the magneto-optic Kerr effect. It was found that Co nucleates in grains that prefer to grow along the bunched step edges of the Si substrate ([112?] direction), which induces a strong in-plane uniaxial anisotropy. By introducing Au buffer layers, the magnetic characteristics were improved by preventing the silicide reaction between Si and Co. Moreover, the tendency for step decoration disappears gradually results in the in-plane uniaxial anisotropy reduction.     

Ultrathin Y2O3(111) films on Pt(111) substrates

The growth of ultrathin films of Y₂O₃(111) on Pt(111) has been studied using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS), and low energy electron diffraction (LEED). The films were grown by physical vapor deposition of yttrium in a 10^? 6 Torr oxygen atmosphere. Continuous Y₂O₃(111) films were obtained by post-growth annealing at 700 °C. LEED and STM indicate an ordered film with a bulk-truncated Y₂O₃(111)–1 × 1 structure exposed. Furthermore, despite the lattices of the substrate and the oxide film being incommensurate, the two lattices exhibit a strict in-plane orientation relationship with the [11?0] directions of the two cubic lattices aligning parallel to each other. XPS measurements suggest hydroxyls to be easily formed at the Y₂O₃ surface at room temperature even under ultra high vacuum conditions. The hydrogen desorbs from the yttria surface above ~ 200 °C.