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.     

Atomic relaxation of the BeO (101̄0) surface

The atomic relaxation of the nonpolar (101̄0) surface of BeO has been calculated by minimizing the surface energy within the framework of the ab initio Hartree-Fock method. A six-layer two-dimensionally periodic slab model was used, permitting a full symmetry-conserving relaxation of the two outer layers. The BeO surface bonds show a small rotation angle of about 4 accompanied by a large (about 10%) reduction in surface bond length. Significant contraction of backbonds and a small rotation of second layer bonds are also found. The relaxed BeO (101̄0) surface is thus predicted to be similar to the ZnO (101̄0) surface but different from the corresponding surfaces of all other II–VI compounds. Various explanations for this difference are discussed, and evidence from a bond population analysis is presented which suggests that this behavior can be described in terms of partial double bond character in the surface bonds. Since multiple bonding is related to small atomic radii, it would follow that the small radius of the oxygen atom is the ultimate cause of the type of surface relaxation we predict.     

Photoelectron spectroscopy study of the K-covered ZnO(1 0 1̄ 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 1̄ 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 1̄ 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.     

Observation of extrinsic surface states on (112̄0) CdS

Surface states have been detected by surface photovoltage spectroscopy on (112̄0) CdS surfaces subjected to various treatments in UHV and studied by Auger electron spectroscopy and LEED. All surface electronic features can be related to chemical contamination or lattice nonstoichiometry. Energy level spectra of air-exposed CdS exhibit a set of discrete states due to adsorption of C, O, and Cl. Ion bombardment generates a pair of states 2.35 eV and ~0.8 eV above the valence band edge due to S interstitials and vacancies, respectively. Oxygen adsorption produces a broad continuum of states. Changes in surface atomic order show no direct effect on these electronic features. No intrinsic surface states, filled or empty, are observed by surface photovoltage spectroscopy on clean, stoichiometric (112̄0) faces of CdS.     

Oxygen adsorption on Cu(110): Determination of atom positions with low energy ion scattering

The position of adsorbed oxygen on Cu($\text{1}$10) surfaces was determined with Low Energy Ion Scattering (LEIS). The experiments were performed by bombarding the copper surface at small angles of incidence with low energy Ne⁺ ions (3–5 keV). Measurements of the Ne⁺ ions scattered by adsorbed oxygen showed regular peaks in the azimuthal distribution of the scattered ions due to a shadowing effect. From the symmetry of the azimuthal distributions it follows that the centre of an adsorbed oxygen atom on the Cu(1̄10) surface lies about 0.6 Å below the midpoint between two neighbouring Cu atoms in a 〈001〉 row. A comparison of the azimuthal distributions of Ne⁺ ions scattered from clean Cu surfaces and oxygen-covered Cu surfaces showed that hardly any surface reconstruction had occurred in the oxygen-covered surfaces. The applied method seems to be an appropriate one for locating adsorbed atoms because it uses only simple qualitative considerations about azimuthal distributions of scattered ions.     

The reactivity of the clean and contaminated (0001̄) polar and the (101̄0) prism ZnO surfaces to chlorine

The reactivities of the (0001̄) and (101̄O) surfaces of zinc oxide to chlorine gas have been studied by a range of techniques. In the case of the (0001̄) oxygen polar surface investigations were made with the surface both atomically clean and with a known level of carbon and calcium contamination. Comparison is made with our earlier results on the (0001) surface which showed a high level of reactivity due to the increased electrostatic stability on adsorption of the electronegative gas. Both the oxygen polar and the prism surface showed a much lower reactivity to chlorine than the zinc face: contamination by carbon and calcium on the former surface reduced the reactivities still further. This result conflicts with comparable data for oxygen adsorption where previous work has shown a greater take-up of oxygen on the oxygen face than the zinc face. Unlike the zinc face, no LEED superstructures were observed on any of, the three surfaces, but in common with the (0001) there were significant electron beam desorption effects. Two states could be identified: one was rapidly removed in ~10 μA min exposure to the beam, the other in much longer periods. Work function and ELS data were consistent with atomic adsorption of chlorine on all surfaces. An exception was the (101̄O) at high exposures where a work function decrease took place following the initial increase: this may indicate a second molecular state.     

Chemical properties of anion vacancies on zinc oxide

A ZnO(404̄1) surface, which is a stepped [4(101̄0) × (0001)] surface containing a high density of anion vacancies was prepared. When compared with the nonpolar (101̄0) surface, the (404̄1) surface adsorbed O₂ and methanol more strongly, but CO₂ more weakly. The decomposition products of methanol were different on these two surfaces.     

The adsorption of Xe and CO on a Cu (311) single crystal surface

LEED, electron energy loss spectroscopy and surface potential measurements have been used to study the adsorption of Xe and CO on Cu (311). Xe is adsorbed with a heat of 19 ± 2 kJ mol^/t-1. The complete monolayer has a surface potential of 0.58 V and a hexagonal close-packed structure with an interatomic distance of 4.45 ± 0.05 Å. CO gives a positive surface potential increasing with coverage to a maximum of 0.34 V and then falling to 0.22 V at saturation. The heat of adsorption is initially 61 ± 2 kJ mol^?1, falling as the surface potential maximum is approached to about 45 kJ mol^?1. At this coverage streaks appear in the LEED pattern corresponding to an overlayer which is one-dimensionally ordered in the [011̄] direction. Additional CO adsorption causes the heat of adsorption to decrease further and the overlayer structure to be compressed in the [011̄] direction. At saturation the LEED pattern shows extra spots which are tentatively attributed to domains of a new overlayer structure coexisting with the first. Electron energy loss spectra (EELS) of adsorbed CO show two characteristic peaks at 4.5 and 13.5 eV probably arising from transitions between the electronic levels of chemisorbed CO.     

Surface core level shift on Be( 112̄0)

A photoemission study of the Be(112̄0) surface carried out at a sample temperature of 100 K is reported. A surface shifted Be 1s component, having a shift of - 410 meV, is resolved on this surface. The extracted surface to bulk intensity ratio indicate that this component originates from atoms in the surface layer only. This is opposite to previous observations on both the close-packed Be(0001) surface and the Be(101̄0) surface where sub-surface shifted Be 1s levels were unambiguously identified. Among these three surfaces a surface layer atom is expected to have the lowest coordination on the (112̄0) surface but the surface layer shift is found to be smallest on this surface. Compared to findings on other metals this is unusual and reasons contributing to this behaviour are suggested and discussed.     

A study of the (00) LEED beam intensity at normal incidence from CdS(0001), Cu(001), Cu(111), and Ni(111)

A Faraday cage apparatus is used for the measurement of the (00) LEED beam intensity, I₍₀₀₎, and the total secondary emission coefficient, δ(E_k), for angles of incidence from 0° ± 2° to 8° ± 2°, with an energy resolution of ± 0.037 of the incident beam energy, in the energy range 1 to 200 eV. The data are normalized and expressed as a fraction of the incident beam intensity. The basic principle of operation is the separation of the incident and specularly diffracted beams in a uniform magnetic field. Monolayer, or in-plane, resonances associated with the emergence of nonspecular beams, as well as beam threshold minima, are observed in I₍₀₀₎ at normal incidence from clean CdS(0001), Cu(111), and Ni(111). Some major differences are observed in the I₍₀₀₎ profiles for the clean (111) surfaces of nickel and copper. All secondary Bragg peaks, except the 2$\text{2}\text{3}$ order, have greater intensities for Ni(111) in the energy range 50–150 eV, thus indicating that the atomic scattering cross-section for electrons in this energy range is larger for nickel than for copper. For the (111) surface of nickel, the (11) resonance is missing, but the (10) resonance and all $\text{1}\text{3}$ order secondary Bragg peaks between the second and fifth orders are observed. For Cu(111) both the (10) and (11) resonances are observed, but the $\text{1}\text{3}$, $\text{2}\text{3}$, 1$\text{2}\text{3}$, and 3$\text{1}\text{3}$ order secondary Bragg peaks are missing in this energy range. These data indicate that multiple scattering with evanescent intermediate waves, or “shadowing”, is predominate on the (111) surfaces on nickel and copper for energies above 30 eV, and that below 30 eV multiple scattering with propagating intermediate waves is predominate on Cu(111). Correlation of the (00) beam intensity profiles from clean Ni(111) at 0°, 2°, and 6° with the intensity profiles of the (10). (1̄0), and (11) non-specular beams is nearly one-to-one from 30 eV to 100 eV, thus supporting the dynamical theories of LEED in which peaks in the (00) beam are expected to occur at nearly the same energies as peaks in the non-specular beams.     

Inelastic scattering of Ne atoms from a LiF(001) surface

Scattering experiments with a ²⁰Ne nozzle beam from a LiF(001) surface in the 〈100〉 azimuth are reported. The (11) and (1̄1̄) Bragg reflections show broad tails due to inelastic scattering. These tails can be attributed by time-of-flight measurements to single phonon scattering on acoustic modes. The inelastic contribution decreases rapidly with increasing energy of the phonons involved.     

Energy band alignment of MgO (111)/ZnO (0002) heterojunction determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to measure the energy discontinuity in the MgO (111)/ZnO (0002) heterostructure. The valence band offset (VBO) was determined to be 1.22±0.23 eV and a type-I heterojunction with a conduction band offset (CBO) of 3.24±0.23 eV was obtained. The discrepancy of VBO values between MgO/ZnO and ZnO/MgO heterojunctions was mainly attributed to the internal electric field induced by spontaneous polarization effect in ZnO layer.     

Adsorption of gold on low index planes of rhenium

On atomically rough areas of a thermally cleaned rhenium field emitter, adsorbed gold behaves like it does on tungsten. The average work function $\text{}\text{?}$gf increases at low average gold coverage $\text{}\text{?}$gq due to formation of gold-rhenium dipoles, and at high coverage a structural transformation in the gold layer leads to a $\text{}\text{?}$gq-independent work function. Broadly similar behaviour is found for gold on the low-index planes of tungsten, but on low-index rhenium planes gold behaves rather differently. When thermally cleaned at > 2200 K and annealed below 800 K, the work function, φ(clean), of (101&#x0304;1&#x0304;) takes one of two values 5.25 ± 0.04 eV, and 5.36 ± 0.04 eV, which are tentatively attributed to the two possible structures of this plane. Similar behaviour is expected and observed for (101&#x0304;0),but the values taken by φ(clean) are not well defined. Both forms of (101&#x0304;1&#x0304;) are thought to undergo reconstruction above 800 K forming a single structure with φ(clean) = 5.55 ± 0.03 eV. (112&#x0304;0) and (112&#x0304;2&#x0304;) each have only one possible structure, and in keeping with this, φ(clean) has a single well-defined value for each plane. The flatness of (101&#x0304;1&#x0304;) and (101&#x0304;0) leads to field reduction at their centres which produces an increase in their measured work functions by up to 10%. The initial increase in φ produced by gold condensed at 78 K and spread at low equilibration temperatures T_s on (112&#x0304;2&#x0304;), (101&#x0304;1&#x0304;) and (112&#x0304;0) is attributed to gold-rhenium dipoles, which, on the latter two planes approximate to the Topping model, giving dipoles characterised by μ₀(1011) = 0.1 × 10^?30 C-m with α = 10 ų and μ₀(112&#x0304;0) = 0.32 × 10^?30 C-m with α = 22 ų, where μ₀ is the zero-coverage dipole moment and α its polarizability. Failure of the Topping model on (112&#x0304;2&#x0304;) is attributed to its atomically rough structure. No dipole effect is seen on (101&#x0304;0). Energy spectroscopy of electrons field emitted at (202&#x0304;1&#x0304;) and (101&#x0304;1&#x0304;) demonstrates the non-free character of electrons in rhenium, while the small effect of adsorbed gold strengthens the belief that gold is bound through a greatly broadened 6s level centred 5.6 eV below the Fermi level and the dipolar nature of the bond supports this model. At higher values of T_s and $\text{}\text{?}$gq gold appears to form states which are well-characterised by a coverage-independent work function. (101&#x0304;0), (101&#x0304;1&#x0304;) and (112&#x0304;0) each form two such states, one in the range 2 < $\text{}\text{?}$gq < 4 (state 1), and the second at $\text{}\text{?}$gq > 4 (state 2). The atomic radii of gold and rhenium are thought to be sufficiently similar to allow the possibility that state 1 is a replication of the Re plane structure by gold. The high work function and thermal stability of state 2, taken together with the observed temperature dependence of the transformation of state 1 to state 2, encourages the belief that state 2 results from atomic rearrangement of state 1 into a close-packed Au(111) structure. State 2 also forms on (112&#x0304;2&#x0304;) and the absence of state 1 on this plane suggests some surface alloying at coverages below 4 $\text{}\text{?}$gq.     

Dynamics of Pd monomers and dimers adsorbed on the (001) surfaces of strongly correlated nickel oxides

The adsorption and diffusion of Pd monomers and dimers on the (001) surfaces of strongly correlated nickel oxides were investigated using density functional theory combined with the on-site Coulomb repulsion U. The results were compared with those of Pd on nonmagnetic MgO(001). For the Pd monomer, the most stable adsorption site was found to be near the surface O atom. The surface diffusion of the Pd monomer occurred by a hopping process over surface hollow sites. The diffusion energy barrier was 0.21 eV, which was lower than that for Pd on MgO(001). In the case of the Pd dimer, the smallest and stable cluster, the most stable adsorption structure had a flat geometry, with both Pd atoms sitting above the neighboring surface O atoms. The surface diffusion of the Pd dimer occurred by rotational and sliding processes, in contrast to that of the Pd dimer on MgO(001). The diffusion energy barriers ranged from 0.33 to 0.36 eV. The values for the surface diffusion of Pd dimers on NiO(001) were lower than those of Pd on MgO(001). This suggests that Pd dimers move more rapidly on NiO(001) than on MgO(001), and that the sintering of Pd clusters closely related to catalytic activities can occur more easily compared to that of Pd on MgO(001).     

The adsorption of CO on Cu surfaces studied by electron energy loss spectroscopy

Electron energy loss spectroscopy (ELS) in the energy range of electronic transitions (primary energy 30 < E₀ < 50 eV, resolution ΔE ≈ 0.3 eV) has been used to study the adsorption of CO on polycrystalline surfaces and on the low index faces (100), (110), (111) of Cu at 80 K. Also LEED patterns were investigated and thermal desorption was analyzed by means of the temperature dependence of three losses near 9, 12 and 14 eV characteristic for adsorbed CO. The 12 and 14 eV losses occur on all Cu surfaces in the whole coverage range; they are interpreted in terms of intramolecular transitions of the CO. The 9 eV loss is sensitive to the crystallographic type of Cu surface and to the coverage with CO. The interpretation in terms of d(Cu) → 2π¹(CO) charge transfer transitions allows conclusions concerning the adsorption site geometry. The ELS results are consistent with information obtained from LEED. On the (100) surface CO adsorption enhances the intensity of a bulk electronic transition near 4 eV at E₀ < 50 eV. This effect is interpreted within the framework of dielectric theory for surface scattering on the basis of the Cu electron energy band scheme.     

The electronic structure of ordered Cu3Au(001)

The electronic structure of the (001) face of ordered Cu₃Au was studied using synchrotron radiation at BESSY, in the photon energy range 22–80 eV. The Cu 3d-derived bands in Cu₃Au look like the foldedd-bands of fcc Cu metal. Three Au 5d-derived bands were observed at 5.0, 6.1 and 7.0 eV below the Fermi level, which showed no dispersion with change in photon energy. The Cu 3d- and the Au 5d-derived bands are found to be separated in energy. We have calculated self-consistent energy bands along the (001) direction using the fully relativistic LMTO method. Comparison of these bands with those experimentally determined shows good agreement. From the calculated bands along –X the direction dependent densities of states were determined, which give a consistent account for the non-dispersive Au-bands.     

Electronic properties of self-assembled quantum dots of sodium on Cu(1 1 1) and their interaction with water

The electronic properties of thin films of Na on Cu(1 1 1) and their interaction with water have been investigated at room temperature by high resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy. The first Na layer is characterized by two features tentatively assigned to charge density waves. The second Na layer grows as small islands. The loss spectrum of this layer shows a feature at 3.0 eV identified as a Mie resonance. Increasing alkali coverage, Na islands form a continuous film, as indicated by the appearance of a Na surface plasmon and by the disappearance of the Mie resonance. Water vapour strongly interacts with Na layers as shown by the OH-Na vibration whose frequency shifts from 36 meV to 53 meV as a function of alkali coverage.     

Structure analysis of an oxidized nickel (110) surface using low energy ion scattering

Low energy (6 keV) argon and neon ion scattering in the low angle mode (θ = 30°) has been used to investigate changes in the surface structure of a Ni(110) surface caused by the adsorption of oxygen at low exposures (10^?6 Torr s). The experimental energy spectra indicate that due to adsorption of oxygen, the interatomic distance in the 〈1&#x0304;10〉 direction increases while in the 〈001&#x0304;〉 direction this distance seems to decrease. This represents strong evidence that a reconstruction process is taking place during the early stages of oxidation of the Ni(110) face, in which the interatomic distances in the 〈1&#x0304;10〉 direction doubles. The oxygen atoms were found to lie in or close to the nickel 〈001&#x0304;〉 rows. These results are not in agreement with recently published dynamical LEED calculations.     

Surface structures formed upon oxidation of the (311) face of copper

The oxidation of the copper (311) surface at temperatures from 25 to 900° C, and at oxygen pressures from 1 atm to 10⁻⁴ torr has been investigated by reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED). At room temperature, a poorly organized three-demensional epitaxial layer of Cu²O initially covers the surface, but it disappears when heated in vacuum to 200 °C. Between 300 and 600 °C, two symmetry-equivalent versions of a (4 × 1) two-dimensional surface structure form. Above 500 °C, this structure transforms into another having a hexagonal primitive cell with one axis coinciding with the Cu [011&#x0304;] direction and an axial length of 5.212 Å. This is the same cell which has been observed previously with oxidation of copper (100), (111), and (110) faces above 600 °C. Upon oxidation above 600 °C, the surface decomposes into (111) and (100) facets having the copper [010&#x0304;] direction in common.