Growth and thermal properties of ultrathin cerium oxide layers on Rh(1 1 1)

Ultrathin layers of cerium oxide have been deposited on a Rh(1 1 1) surface and their growth morphology, structure, and thermal stability have been investigated by LEED, STM, XPS, and valence band resonant photoemission. STM and LEED indicate that the ceria grows epitaxially in form of ordered CeO₂ islands at elevated substrate temperature (250–300 °C), with (1 1 1) faces parallel and orientationally aligned to the main azimuthal directions of the substrate. The ultrathin ceria films contain significant amounts of reduced Ce³⁺ species, which appear to be located predominantly at the ceria–Rh interface. For thicker films (>6 equivalent monolayers) stoichiometric CeO₂ is detected in XPS. Vacuum annealing produces morphologically well-defined hexagonal islands, accompanied by partial reduction and the formation of oxygen vacancies at the ceria surface. The thermal stability and the degree of reduction is a function of the oxide layer thickness, with thinner layers being thermally less stable. At temperatures >800 °C, the ceria decomposes and Ce–Rh alloy phases are identified.