Adsorption of Cs and O2 on MoS2

Adsorption of Cs on basal planes of MoS₂ has been studied with LEED, Auger and work function measurements. LEED observations show that in the 200–300 K range Cs is adsorbed as amorphous layers on MoS₂. Correlation of Auger and work function measurements indicates that the work function, sticking coefficient and the maximum density of Cs that can be deposited on the MoS₂ surface depend strongly on substrate temperature. Cesium is deposited on MoS₂ in two adsorption states. Although MoS₂ is extremely inert to O₂ adsorption, the presence of Cs causes a drastic increase in the adsorption of oxygen which in turn increases the amount of Cs that can be deposited on the surface. Lastly, it has been found that part of the Cs adatoms are diffused into the bulk of MoS₂.     

Site-specific interaction of H2O with ZnO single-crystal surfaces studied by thermal desorption and UV photoelectron spectroscopy

The adsorption and condensation of H₂O(D₂O) on ZnO(101̄0), (0001)Zn and (0001̄)O surfaces was investigated by means of thermal desorption (TDS) and UV photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS). The clean ZnO single-crystal surfaces were prepared by Ar-ion sputtering and annealing and characterised by Auger electron spectroscopy, LEED, UPS and work-function measurements. On all three surfaces six different adsorption states were found. In the monolayer regime there is a stronger bonding to Zn sites (desorption temperature 340 K) than to O sites (190 K), The bonding to the Zn sites seems to be accompanied by some clustering. Before the chemisorption layer is completed a first ice state is found whose desorption temperature shifts from 162 to 168 K with increasing exposures. At higher exposures the multilayer ice state is found at 152 K. On the (0001̄)O face defect-induced features were identified. The water lone-pair orbital 1b₁, whose energy falls between the O p and the Zn 3d emission of the substrate and which is known to show bonding shifts, was analysed using angle-resolved UPS. In the monolayer, the main chemisorption states are found at E_B^V(1b₁) = ?9.6 eV for the (0001)Zn face and at ? 10.6 eV for the (0001̄)O face and are compared with the multilayer ice emission at 1̄1.1 eV. The difference in binding energies shows the same trend as the TDS data. For the (101̄0) face the 1b₁ emission is very broad, indicating some overlap between different states.     

The adsorption of SO2 on iron surfaces studied by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

The interaction of SO₂ with evaporated iron surfaces in the temperature range 80–450 K was investigated by using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. At 300 K, SO₂ decomposed at the initial stage of the interaction and gave adsorbed S with the S2p peak at 161.9 eV and adsorbed O with the O1s at 530.0 eV. Further exposure of SO₂ gave adsorbed SO₄ with S2p at 166.8 eV O1s at 531.3 eV, being different in binding energies from ionic SO₄^2?. This indicates the two stage reaction Of SO₂ with iron surface; SO₂(gas) → S(ads) + 20(ads), SO₂(gas) + 2O(ads) → SO₄(ads). The first reaction did not occur at low temperature or in the presence of adsorbed O. The adsorbed SO₄ formed at 80 K showed a quantitative decomposition reaction into S(ads) and O(ads) in the temperature range 200–350 K.     

The effect of MoS2 structural changes on the adsorption of Cs

A comparison has been carried out of the behavior of Cs adsorbed on the basal plane of MoS₂ before and after substrate structural changes caused by heat treatment. Extensive heating of the MoS₂ crystal resulted in a loss of its layer structure. Cesium on MoS₂ (0001) forms clusters in contrast to its uniform adsorption on metals and semiconductors. As the layer structure is lost by heating, Cs clustering is strongly affected and there is a tendency towards a more uniform distribution of the adatoms. This indicates that the layer-compound character of MoS₂ might be responsible for Cs clustering.     

The CO coadsorption and reactions of sulfur,hydrogen and oxygen on clean and sulfided Mo(100) and on MoS2(0001) crystal faces

The chemisorption and reactivity of O₂ and H₂ with the sulfided Mo(100) surface and the basal (0001) plane of MoS₂ have been studied by means of Thermal Desorption Spectroscopy (TDS), Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES) and Low Energy Electron Diffraction (LEED). These studies have been carried out at both low (10^?8–10^?5Torr) and high (1 atm) pressures of O₂ and H₂. Sulfur desorbs from Mo(100) both as an atom and as a diatomic molecule. Sulfur adsorbed on Mo(100) blocks sites of hydrogen adsorption without noticeably changing the hydrogen desorption energies. TDS of ¹⁸O coadsorbed with sulfur on the Mo(100) surface produced the desorption of SO at 1150 K, and of S, S₂ and O, but not SO₂. A pressure of 1 × 10^?7 Torr of O₂ was sufficient to remove sulfur from Mo(100) at temperatures over 1100 K. The basal plane of MoS₂ was unreactive in the presence of 1 atm of O₂ at temperatures of 520 K. Sputtering of the MoS₂ produced a marked uptake of oxygen and the removal of sulfur under the same conditions.     

Anomalous coverage behavior of the CsAg distance on CsAg(110)

The position of Cs on the (1 × 2) missing row reconstructed Ag(110) surface was determined by X-ray diffraction for two different Cs-coverages: θ_Cs = 0.2 and θ_Cs = 0.3. The Cs was found to be adsorbed in incommensurate chains in the troughs of the missing row with an average adsorption height of 1.7 Å (θ_Cs = 0.2) and 1.4 Å (θ_Cs = 0.3) above the topmost Ag layer. The apparent contradiction to the classical picture of alkali adsorption, which expects an increase of the Cs adsorption height with coverage, might be partly resolved by introducing a fraction of commensurately adsorbed Cs at θ_Cs = 0.2.     

High pressure electrical transport measurements of Cs2MoS4 and KTbP2Se6 and X-ray diffraction study of Cs2MoS4

We report the results of electrical resistance measurements at high pressures on Cs₂MoS₄ and KTbP₂Se₆. The results of high pressure X-ray diffraction study of Cs₂MoS₄ are also presented. Interestingly, in the case of Cs₂MoS₄ the resistance vs. pressure follows the behavior of the absorption edge vs. pressure obtained from our optical measurements lending further support to a direct-indirect band crossing. In the case of KTbP₂Se₆,the phase transition at about 9.2 GPa is reflected in a sharp drop of the resistance. In addition we report the pressure dependence of the lattice constants as well as the equation of state of Cs₂MoS₄.     

Interaction of O2, CO2, CO,C2H4 and C2H4O with Ag(110)

The interaction of O₂, CO₂, CO, C₂H₄ AND C₂H₄O with Ag(110) has been studied by low energy electron diffraction (LEED), temperature programmed desorption (TPD) and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). For adsorbed oxygen the EELS and TPD signals are measured as a function of coverage (θ). Up to θ = 0.25 the EELS signal is proportional to coverage; above 0.25 evidence is found for dipole-dipole interaction as the EELS signal is no longer proportional to coverage. The TPD signal is not directly proportional to the oxygen coverage, which is explained by diffusion of part of the adsorbed oxygen into the bulk. Oxygen has been adsorbed both at pressures of less than 10^-4 Pa in an ultrahigh vacuum chamber and at pressures up to 10³ Pa in a preparation chamber. After desorption at 10³ Pa a new type of weakly bound subsurface oxygen is identified, which can be transferred to the surface by heating the crystal to 470 K. CO₂ is not adsorbed as such on clean silver at 300 K. However, it is adsorbed in the form of a carbonate ion if the surface is first exposed to oxygen. If the crystal is heated this complex decomposes into O_ad and CO₂ with an activation energy of 27 kcal/mol(1 kcal = 4.187 kJ). Up to an oxygen coverage of 0.25 one CO₂ molecule is adsorbed per two oxygen atoms on the surface. At higher oxygen coverages the amount of CO₂ adsorbed becomes smaller. CO readily reacts with O_ad at room temperature to form CO₂. This reaction has been used to measure the number of O atoms present on the surface at 300 K relative to the amount of CO₂ that is adsorbed at 300 K by the formation of a carbonate ion. Weakly bound subsurface oxygen does not react with CO at 300 K. Adsorption of C₂H₄O at 110 K is promoted by the presence of atomic oxygen. The activation energy for desorption of C₂H₄O from clean silver is ～ 9 kcal/mol, whereas on the oxygen-precovered surface two states are found with activation energies of 8.5 and 12.5 kcal/mol. The results are discussed in terms of the mechanism of ethylene epoxidation over unpromoted and unmoderated silver.     

Interaction of H2O with a clean and oxygen precovered Ni(110) surface studied by XPS

The adsorption and reaction of H₂O on clean and oxygen precovered Ni(110) surfaces was studied by XPS from 100 to 520 K. At low temperature (T<150 K), a multilayer adsorption of H₂O on the clean surface with nearly constant sticking coefficient was observed. The O 1s binding energy shifted with coverage from 533.5 to 534.4 eV. H₂O adsorption on an oxygen precovered Ni(110) surface in the temperature range from 150 to 300 K leads to an O 1s double peak with maxima at 531.0 and 532.6 eV for T=150 K (530.8 and 532.8 eV at 300 K), proposed to be due to hydrogen bonded O_ads… HOH species on the surface. For T>350 K, only one sharp peak at 530.0 eV binding energy was detected, due to a dissociation of H₂O into O_ads and H₂. The s-shaped O 1s intensity-exposure curves are discussed on the basis of an autocatalytic process with a temperature dependent precursor state.     

Optical band-gap of Zn3As2

Absorption measurements of single Zn₃As₂ crystals were made at temperatures 5, 80 and 300 K. Free-carrier absorption is interpreted in the simple classical model. Interband absorption shows contributions from Urbach-like excitations. The direct optical gap has been estimated as 0.99 eV at 300 K, 1.09 eV at 80 K and 1.11 eV at 5 K. The linear dependence of band-gap on temperature was found in the range 80–300 K with dE_g/dT = ? 4.55 × 10^?4eVK^?1.     

Magnetic susceptibility studies of (CH2)3(NH3)2FeCl2Br2 and (CH2)6(NH3)2FeCl2Br2

The magnetic susceptibility of the layered compounds (CH₂)₃(NH₃)₂FeCl₂Br₂ and (CH₂)₆(NH₃)₂FeCl₂Br₂ has been measured in the range 80 < T < 300 K. The results follow a Curie-Weiss behavior in the range 120 < T < 300 K but are field dependent for T < 120 K. The results are interpreted in terms of a two-dimensional antiferromagnetic interaction which is canted. A comparison with the corresponding pure chloride compounds is given.     

Magnetic properties for the Cu2MnSnSe4 and Cu2FeSnSe4 compounds

Magnetic susceptibility χ measurements in the range from 2 to 300 K were carried out on samples of the Cu₂FeSnSe₄ and Cu₂MnSnSe₄ compounds. It was found that Cu₂FeSnSe₄ was antiferromagnetic showing ideal Curie-Weiss behavior with a Néel temperature T_N of about 19 K and Curie-Weiss temperature θ=−200 K, while for Cu₂MnSnSe₄ the behavior was spin-glass with a freezing temperature T_f of about 22 K and Curie-Weiss temperature θ=−25 K. The spin-glass order parameter q(T), determined from the susceptibility data, was found to be in agreement with the prediction of conventional spin-glass theory.     

Anomalous adsorption of Cs on Pt(1 1 1)

The adsorption of Cs on Pt(1 1 1) surfaces and its reactivity toward oxygen and iodine for coverages θ_Cs?0.15 is reported. These surfaces show unusual “anomalous” behavior compared to higher coverage surfaces. Similar behavior of K on Pt(1 1 1) was previously suggested to involve incorporation of K into the Pt lattice. Despite the larger size of Cs, similar behavior is reported here. Anomalous adsorption is found for coverages lower than 0.15 ML, at which point there is a change in the slope of the work function. Thermal Desorption Spectroscopy (TDS) shows a high-temperature Cs peak at 1135 K, which involves desorption of Cs⁺ from the surface.The anomalous Cs surfaces and their coadsorption with oxygen and iodine are characterized by Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES), TDS and Low Electron Energy Diffraction (LEED). Iodine adsorption to saturation on Pt(1 1 1)(anom)-Cs give rise to a sharp LEED pattern and a distinctive work function increase. Adsorbed iodine interacts strongly with the Cs and weakens the Cs-Pt bond, leading to desorption of Cs_xI_y clusters at 560 K. Anomalous Cs increases the oxygen coverage over the coverage of 0.25 ML found on clean Pt. However, the Cs-Pt bond is not significantly affected by coadsorbed oxygen, and when oxygen is desorbed the anomalous cesium remains on the surface.     

Coadsorption of oxygen and cesium on Ru(001)

The coadsorption of oxygen and Cs on Ru(001) has been studied by means of thermal desorption, Auger and electron loss spectroscopy and work function measurements. The initial sticking coefficients for oxygen adsorption and oxygen saturation coverages increase with increasing Cs coverage, θ_Cs. Irrespective of the initial θ_Cs, the Cs desorption energy always increases under the influence of the coadsorbed oxygen, the effect becoming stronger with increasing oxygen coverage. At θ_O>0.5and θ_Cs>0.14 the work function, electron loss changes and thermal desorption data give evidence of strong CsO interactions and the formation of a CsO “surface compound”.     

Site selectivities of alkali ions in CsRb2C60 and Cs2RbC60 superconductors

The temperature-dependent site selectivities of Cs and Rb ions in CsRb₂C₆₀ and Cs₂RbC₆₀ superconductors are computed using the free energy obtained from the configuration entropy and the total energy calculated using the ab initio pseudopotential density-functional theory. It is found that in CsRb₂C₆₀ the smaller Rb ions can occupy a considerable number of large octahedral interstitial sites at high temperatures, however, the transition to random occupation never takes place. For Cs₂RbC₆₀ the Cs occupancy of the large octahedral interstitial sites is almost always 100%, and, interestingly, the two tetrahedral interstitial sites are randomly occupied by Cs and Rb ions even at very low temperatures.     

H2O interaction with clean and oxygen precovered Ni(110)

The interaction of water vapour with clean as well as with oxygen precovered Ni(110) surfaces was studied at 150 and 273 K, using UPS, ΔΦ, TDS, and ELS. The He(I) (He(II)) excited UPS indicate a molecular adsorption of H₂O on Ni(110) at 150 K, showing three water-induced peaks at 6.5, 9.5 and 12.2 eV below E_F (6.8, 9.4 and 12.7 eV below E_F). The dramatic decrease of the Ni d-band intensity at higher exposures, as well as the course of the work function change, demonstrates the formation of H₂O multilayers (ice). The observed energy shift of all water-induced UPS peaks relative to the Fermi level (ΔE_max = 1.5 eVat 200 L) with increasing coverage is related to extra-atomic relaxation effects. The activation energies of desorption were estimated as 14.9 and 17.3 kcal/mole. From the ELS measurements we conclude a great sensitivity of H₂O for electron beam induced dissociation. At 273 K water adsorbs on Ni(110) only in the presence of oxygen, with two peaks at 5.7 and 9.3 eV below E_F (He(II)), being interpreted as due to hydroxyl species (OH)^δ? on the surface. A kinetic model for the H₂O adsorption on oxygen precovered Ni(110) surfaces is proposed, and verified by a simple Monte Carlo calculation leading to the same dependence of the maximum amount of adsorbed H₂O on the oxygen precoverage as revealed by work function measurements. On heating, some of the (OH)^δ? recombines and desorbs as H₂O at ? 320 K, leaving behind an oxygen covered Ni surface.     

Adsorption and diffusion of H2O molecule on the Be(0001) surface: A density-functional theory study

Using first-principles calculations, we systematically study the adsorption behavior of a single molecular H₂O on the Be(0001) surface. We find that the favored molecular adsorption site is the top site with an adsorption energy of about 0.3 eV, together with the detailed electronic structure analysis, suggesting a weak binding strength of the H₂O/Be(0001) surface. The adsorption interaction is mainly contributed by the overlapping between the s and pz states of the top-layer Be atom and the molecular orbitals 1b₁ and 3a₁ of H₂O. The activation energy for H₂O diffusion on the surface is about 0.3 eV. Meanwhile, our study indicates that no dissociation state exists for the H₂O/Be(0001) surface.     

Photovoltaic effect and optical absorption in MoS2

An investigation of the Schottky barriers of a number of metals on natural P-type MoS₂ was undertaken. The spectral dependence of the photovoltaic effect of all the metal barriers show two distinct features at 1.38 and 1.68 eV below the direct bandgap at 1.8 eV. A low energy edge at 1.2 eV is invariably observed for metal barriers on MoS₂. Absorption measurements performed over the same energy range indicate that the features observed in the photoresponse spectra are related to indirect transitions in MoS₂, in agreement with recent band calculations. Preliminary data indicate that MoS₂ based Schottky barrier solar cells may be of interest.     

A study of SO2 adsorption on CaO (100) surfaces using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

The adsorption of SO₂ on CaO (100) at 300 K has been studied using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Under ultrahigh-vacuum conditions, the surface was exposed to 0–500 Langmuirs of SO₂. The resulting adsorption yields a single SO surface species with an S 2p peak at 168.2 eV and an O 1s_{$\text{sol1}\text{2}$} peak at 531.7 eV. Subsequent heating of the exposed surface to 673 K indicated no desorption or changes in the binding energies of the S 2p and O 1s_{$\text{1}\text{2}$} peaks. On the basis of these data and binding-energy data for standard compounds, the adsorbed species is identified as SO₄^2?. The surface coverage due to the SO₄^2? species was also measured as a function of SO₂ exposure. From these data, the initial adsorption is found to be first-order in surface coverage, and the initial sticking probability is found to have a value of 0.4.     

NH3 adsorption on Ni(110) and the production of the NH2 species by electron irradiation

The adsorption of NH₃ on Ni(110) has been examined using electron stimulated desorption ion angular distribution (ESDIAD), low energy electron diffraction (LEED) and thermal desorption spectrometry (TDS). At ～ 85 K the NH₃ molecule enters into a series of chemisorption and physisorption states whose structures have been partially characterized by means of ESDIAD and LEED. Upon heating, these NH₃ states desorb without dissociation; for adsorption below 300 K there is essentially no thermal decomposition. The ammonia adiayer was found to be extremely sensitive to electron irradiation effects. Evidence was found to support the irradiation induced conversion of NH₃(ads) to an amido intermediate, nh_2(ads). The NH₂ adsorbs with its C_2v axis normal to the surface and its NH bonds aligned along the [001] and [001?] directions. In the absence of further electron irradiation the nh_2(ads) species is stable to 375 K whereupon it dissociates to N_(ads)and H_2(g). The remaining N_(ads) desorbs near 750 K with significant attractive N…N interaction. No evidence is found for an imido intermediate, nh_(ads). nh_2(ads) also undergoes a disproportionation/recombination reaction upon heating to produce an additional NH₃ desorption state. A significant isotope effect for NH versus ND scission, sensitive to the adsorption state of the ammonia, is found to occur upon electron irradiation.