A kinetic study of the initial oxidation of the Ni(001) surface by RHEED and x-ray emission

Nickel (001) surfaces were prepared by a combination of high temperature oxidation, argon ion bombardment and hydrogen reduction. The oxidation of this surface in pure C₂ to form NiO was studied by reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED) and X-ray emission. On exposure to oxygen the “clean” surface was found to chemisorb oxygen to produce a coverage of 0.014 $\text{micro}\text{g}\text{cm}{}^2$ in an ordered c(2 × 2) structure. Within this film there appears to exist a number of nucleation sites dependent on temperature and step density. Growth is by oxygen capture at the periphery of these sites to produce oxide islands approximately three oxygen planes thick which spread to cover the surface. At room temperature this film does not thicken with additional oxygen exposure.