Interfacial electronic structure and ion beam induced effect of anatase TiO2 surface modified by Pd nanoparticles

Anatase TiO₂ surface could be modified by Pd nanoparticles using an electrochemical deposition method. Surface morphology, light absorption and interfacial electronic structures were studied by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), UV-visible reflectance absorption, X-ray diffraction (XRD) crystallography, and depth-profiling X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). On the basis of XRD patterns, Pd 3d XPS and valance band spectra, the as-deposited overlayer Pd is metallic, with no detectable Pd oxides. The optical band gap of TiO₂ decreases from 3.25 to 3.14 eV upon Pd deposition. The XPS spectra with Ar⁺ ion sputtering show that 4+ oxidation state of Ti dramatically changes to lower (3+ and 2+) oxidation states. As a result of this, oxygen defects are created in the bulk while the oxygen diffuses outward to likely form hydroxyl group on the surface. The Pd 3d XPS peak shifts by +0.6 eV to a higher BE position, and the density of state at the Fermi level is more or less reduced. It appears that the overlayer Pd becomes less metallic, plausibly due to TiO₂ support and/or size effect. No critical interfacial interaction between Pd and TiO₂ was observed by XPS.     

Surface quasi-ordered nanostructures NbO<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript>/Nb(110): investigation by surface analysis methods

The oxygen-induced surface structure on the Nb(110) face have been investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron diffraction. It is shown that the states (in terms of coordination and chemical bonding) of the niobium atoms belonging to surface oxide structures on Nb(110) are similar the metallic states in NbO. The thickness of the NbO _x layer was estimated to be 0.5 nm. Two nonequivalent chemical states of oxygen atoms on Nb(110) have been selected. It is suggested that the first state is the chemisorbed state of atomic oxygen on hexagonally packed surface areas of a Nb monolayer surface and the second state is the state of oxygen atoms belonging to NbO _x -like linear streaks formed on the Nb(110) face.     

Formation and hydrogenation of p(2 × 2)-N on Pt(1 1 1)

The formation of a well-ordered p(2 × 2) overlayer of atomic nitrogen on the Pt(1 1 1) surface and its reaction with hydrogen were characterized with reflection absorption infrared spectroscopy (RAIRS), temperature programmed desorption (TPD), low energy electron diffraction (LEED), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The p(2 × 2)-N overlayer is formed by exposure of ammonia to a surface at 85 K that is covered with 0.44 monolayer (ML) of molecular oxygen and then heating to 400 K. The reaction between ammonia and oxygen produces water, which desorbs below 400 K. The only desorption product observed above 400 K is molecular nitrogen, which has a peak desorption temperature of 453 K. The absence of oxygen after the 400 K anneal is confirmed with AES. Although atomic nitrogen can also be produced on the surface through the reaction of ammonia with an atomic, rather than molecular, oxygen overlayer at a saturation coverage of 0.25 ML, the yield of surface nitrogen is significantly less, as indicated by the N₂ TPD peak area. Atomic nitrogen readily reacts with hydrogen to produce the NH species, which is characterized with RAIRS by an intense and narrow (FWHM ∼ 4 cm⁻¹) peak at 3322 cm⁻¹. The areas of the H₂ TPD peak associated with NH dissociation and the XPS N 1s peak associated with the NH species indicate that not all of the surface N atoms can be converted to NH by the methods used here.     

Photoelectron holography analysis of W(1 1 0)(1×1)–O surface

By applying photoelectron holography analysis to a W(1 1 0)(1×1)–O surface, the real space image was reconstructed around the oxygen atoms. The peak positions showed that the oxygen atoms lie within the top layer, which does not contradict the results of the R-factor X-ray photoelectron diffraction analysis of Daimon et al. [Surf. Sci. 408 (1998) 260]. The holographic analysis of the calculated photoelectron diffraction pattern indicated that holographic reconstruction reveals atomic positions up to the third nearest-neighbor scatterers. Our study suggests the possibility that the distance among the adsorbate oxygen atoms is slightly larger than the lattice constant of the substrate.     

Photoelectron spectroscopy study of the K-covered ZnO(1 0 1&#x0304; 0) surface; annealing-induced changes in the electronic structure and the chemical composition

The electronic structure and the chemical composition of the K-covered ZnO(1 0 1&#x0304; 0) surface at temperatures between 300 and 1200 K are investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy. Adsorption of K on ZnO(1 0 1&#x0304; 0) at room temperature results in the formation of a two-dimensional disordered K overlayer and induces 0.2 eV downward bending of the substrate’s bands going from the bulk to the surface. Upon annealing the K-covered surface, initial downward bending turns to upward bending with maximum bending of 0.5 eV at 700-800 K. The thermally induced migration of the bulk O atoms and the resultant increase in the number of the O atoms on the surface is responsible for upward bending on the annealed surface. The accumulated O atoms interact with the predeposited K atoms on the surface to form non-stoichiometric K-O complexes with the O/K atomic ratio being 1.6-1.8 in the temperature range between 600 and 1000 K.     

Initial oxidation of the Ce–Ru(0001) interface

Initial oxidation of the Ce–Ru(0001) overlayer system has been studied by photoelectron spectroscopy and low energy electron diffraction. The Ce overlayer thicknesses ranged from 2 to 7 Å. The interface was studied at annealing temperatures up to 1000°C and it was oxidized at low oxygen exposures up to 68 l at 500°C. Interactions between Ce and Ru at the interface were indicated by intensity variations of the Ce3d4f² and Ce3d4f⁰ features with annealing temperature. No intermixing between Ce and Ru exceeding one monolayer was observed. Upon oxidation, trivalent Ce₂O₃ oxide was initially observed at the surface. With increased oxygen exposures, a conversion from trivalent oxide to ‘tetravalent’ CeO₂ was seen. The Ce overlayer had no catalytic effect on oxidation of the Ru substrate in contrast to previous studies on other refractory metal, such as Nb, Ta or W.     

The bonding of oxygen to Al(111)

Oxidation of the Al(111) surface is a two-stage process in which the formation of an ordered oxygen overlayer precedes the creation of a bulk-like amorphous oxide. An electronic structure calculation is reported here for the clean and oxygen-covered Al(111) surface and for bulk A1₂O₃. The calculation uses an atomic-orbital basis and the metal surface is modelled by an infinite two-dimensional crystal, containing seven layers of aluminium atoms. Oxygen atoms occupy three-fold sites, with an Al-O separation of 1.9 Å. The oxygen 2p resonance in the (1 × 1) chemisorbed overlayer is about 3 eV wide, compared to 1.9 eV for an equivalent isolated layer of oxygen atoms unhybridized with the metal. The valence band of A1₂O₃ is about 1.5 eV wider than the chemisorbed oxygen resonance, but in both cases most of the states are concentrated in the top 1.5 eV of the band. The results are related to available ultraviolet photoemission spectra, including the recent angular-resolved spectra of Martinson and Flodström.     

Interaction of oxygen and CO with thin Ag films at AgTi2 substrates

Clean Ag overlayers with a thickness of about three atomic layers are prepared at polycrystalline AgTi₂ surfaces. Adsorption of oxygen and CO at these overlayers is studied with AES, UPS, and TDS methods. UP spectra reveal that oxygen adsorbs dissociatively on the surface of the Ag overlayers at 120 K, similar as at the surfaces of bulk Ag crystals. At higher temperatures, O atoms diffuse into the overlayer and get trapped at Ti at the interface underneath the Ag layer. Unlike at bulk Ag, oxygen adsorption proceeds with high sticking probability, which is attributed to a reduced activation barrier. CO adsorbs at the Ag overlayers in a weakly chemisorbed state with an adsorption energy of ca. 9 kcal/mol, whereas at bulk Ag true physisorption has been observed. Accordingly, UP spectra of CO adsorbed at 120 K exhibit well separated 4σ, 1π and 5σ emission peaks at energetic positions which are essentially different from the CO/Ag physisorption system. This observation is interpreted as a demonstration of the ligand effect, i.e., the activation of weak CO bonding at Ag by strong bonding Ti.     

The adsorption geometry of the (2 × 1)-2O oxygen phase formed on the Co(10 0) surface

The bond geometry of the (2 × 1)-2O-p2mg overlayer on Co(10 0) was determined by analyzing low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) intensity data. Oxygen occupies the three-fold coordinated hcp site along the densely packed rows on the unreconstructed surface. The O atoms are attached to two atoms in the first Co layer and to one Co atom in the second layer. The strong interaction between O and Co is indicated by the bond lengths of 1.83 ± 0.10 Å and 1.99 ± 0.10 Å to the top-layer Co and the Co atoms in the second layer, respectively. The most striking result of our work is that oxygen adsorption causes a marked expansion (by 25%) of the first Co layer spacing (0.90 Å) with respect to the bulk value of 0.72 Å. This strong expansion might offer diffusion channels for O atoms to penetrate further into the subsurface region.     

Geometric and electronic structure of positively and negatively poled LiNbO3 (0 0 0 1) surfaces

The effect of ferroelectric poling direction on the structure and electronic properties of the LiNbO₃ (0 0 0 1) surface was characterized. Low energy and reflection high energy electron diffraction indicated that both the positively and negatively poled surfaces were (1 × 1) with no evidence of longer range periodic reconstructions. Low energy ion scattering spectra from both surfaces were dominated by scattering from oxygen atoms. X-ray and ultraviolet photoelectron spectra also showed little difference between the positively and negatively poled surfaces, with the exception of a high binding energy shoulder on the O 1s core level of the negative surface. Exposure of the surfaces to atomic hydrogen caused reduction of the surface Nb rather than an increase in intensity on the high binding energy side of the O 1s peak, indicating that the shoulder on the O 1s peak on the negative surface was not due to surface hydroxyl groups. Temperature programmed desorption measurements indicated that the nearly stoichiometric LiNbO₃ samples were susceptible to loss of Li₂O starting at temperatures as low as 500 K, independent of the poling direction. An adatom/vacancy model is proposed in which oxygen ad-anions accumulate on one side of the crystal while oxygen anion vacancies are created on the opposite surface. This model can explain the apparent oxygen termination of both surfaces and the observed (1 × 1) periodicity of the surfaces, and also effectively screens the thickness dependent electric field associated with the polar orientation of the crystal.     

X-ray photoelectron diffraction study of discommensurate Cu/Ge(111)

We have studied the atomic structure in the interior of discommensurate domains of the Cu/Ge(111) surface by using scanned-angle X-ray photoelectron diffraction (XPED). XPED patterns of Cu 2p_3/2 intensity provided direct information on the local structure in the vicinity of photoelectron emitters. It has been found that a certain number of Cu atoms are embedded within the surface layer, so that the surface has some structural similarity with the discommensurate Cu/Si(111)-‘5×5’.     

The presence of a (1 × 1) oxygen overlayer on ZnO(0001) surfaces and at Schottky interfaces

The atomic surface and interface structures of uncoated and metal-coated epi-polished ZnO(0001) Zn-polar wafers were investigated via surface x-ray diffraction. All uncoated samples showed the presence of a fully occupied (1 × 1) overlayer of oxygen atoms located at the on-top position above the terminating Zn atom, a structure predicted to be unstable by several density functional theory calculations. The same oxygen overlayer was clearly seen at the interface of ZnO with both elemental and oxidized metal Schottky contact layers. No significant atomic relaxations were observed at surfaces and interfaces processed under typical device fabrication conditions.     

LEED structure analysis of a Co{001} surface

A {001} surface of face-centered-cubic cobalt was cleaned to the point of elimination of all impurities except carbon and oxygen, which were reduced to minimum terminal amounts. A LEED structure analysis of this surface, using 12 intensity spectra at 3 angles of incidence, reveals that the atomic arrangement corresponds to truncation of the bulk structure but with about 4% contraction of the first interlayer spacing along 〈001〉 with respect to the bulk.     

Mn/GaAs(100)界面的形成和化学反应的研究

利用低能电子衍射(LEED)、X射线光电子能谱(XPS)、电子能量损失谱(EELS)、紫外光电子能谱(UPS),对室温下Mn在GaAs(100)4×1表面的淀积过程进行了研究。研究结果表明,当锰的覆盖度θ≥0.25nm时,LEED图案完全消失,表明Mn没有生长成单晶。LEED,EELS的结果都表明淀积初期是层状生长的。对XPS的Ga2p_3/2,As2p_3/2的峰形、强度进行分析,可以知道在很小的覆盖度下,Mn就与衬底反应。置换出的Ga被局限在离原来的界面约3nm 关键词：     

Growth of Si nanostructures on Ag(0 0 1)

The first stages of the growth of silicon on Ag(0 0 1) at moderate temperatures start by the formation of a p(3 × 3) superstructure, which continuously evolves with increasing coverage toward a more complex superstructure. In this paper, the atomic arrangement of the p(3 × 3) and of the “complex” superstructure has been investigated using scanning tunnelling microscopy, surface X-ray diffraction and low energy electron diffraction. The atomic model retained for the p(3 × 3) reconstruction consists in four silicon atoms (tetramers) adsorbed near hollow and bridge sites of the top most Ag(0 0 1) surface layer. For higher coverages, i.e., when the “complex” superstructure starts to develop, the silicon overlayer forms periodic stripes, most probably bi-layers, with a graphitic like structure.     

The structure of Sb(1 1 1) determined by photoelectron diffraction

The Sb(1 1 1) 4d_5/2 core level is found to contain three components. Using photoelectron diffraction, these are assigned to photoemission from the first layer, the second layer and the bulk, respectively. The binding energy for the first and second layer atoms is found to be 120 meV lower and 330 meV higher than for the bulk atoms, respectively. As a by-product of this assignment, the geometric structure of the surface is determined. No substantial relaxations are found.     

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.     

Effect of oxygen vacancies on adhesion at the Nb/Al2O3 and Ni/ZrO2 interfaces

The atomic and electronic structures of the Nb/Al₂O₃(0001) and Ni/ZrO₂(001) interfaces are calculated using density-functional theory. The formation energy of oxygen vacancies is estimated in bulk materials and in surface layers and interfaces for different uppermost atomic layers of oxide surfaces. The work of separation of metal films from oxide surfaces is determined. The effect of oxygen vacancies on the bonding of transition metals to atoms of a substrate determining adhesion at the metal-oxide interfaces is discussed. It is shown that the Nb(Ni)-O interaction at the interfaces weakens in the presence of surface oxygen vacancies.     

Effects of epitaxial films of nanometric thickness on the X-ray photoelectron diffraction intensities from substrates

The effects on the X-ray photoelectron diffraction intensities from the substrate produced by epitaxial NiO(0 0 1) films of various thickness deposited on Ag(0 0 1) were investigated. The variations in the Ag XPD curves induced by the NiO films can be explained in terms of multiple scattering of the electrons emitted by the substrate atoms along the close-packed rows of the overlayer. Intensity minima in the XPD curves from the substrate in correspondence to intensity maxima in the XPD curves from the overlayer are observed when the thin film is commensurate with the substrate. For films of suitable thickness, the analysis of XPD curves from the substrate allows one to get information about the structure of the film and of the film–substrate interface.     

Electron-Spectroscopic Studies of Thermal Stability of Pd/Nb Surfaces

The room-temperature growth of Pd on a clean quasiamorphous, nanostructured Nb surfaces and thermal stability of Pd/Nb interface in the temperature range (295-660) K have been studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray induced Auger electron spectroscopy. The measured spectra of Pd (3d) and Nb (3d) electrons indicate presence of a surface Pd-Nb alloy-like phase in the region of submonolayer Pd coverage at room temperature. The Pd (3d) core level shifts can be explained in terms of initial state effects. For multilayer deposits an intermetallic phase is observed in the Pd/Nb interface at room temperature. Inward diffusion of Pd occurs folowed by the formation of three-dimensional alloy at temperatures above 500 K.