Oxygen on an Fe monolayer on W(110): From chemisorption to oxidation

The adsorption of oxygen on a pseudomorphic iron monolayer deposited on a W(110) surface was studied experimentally and theoretically. Standard surface characterization methods, such as Auger electron spectroscopy and low energy electron diffraction, and specific nuclear methods, such as conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopy (CEMS) and nuclear resonant scattering of synchrotron radiation, combined with theoretical calculations based on the density functional theory allowed us to determine the structure of the oxygen adsorbate and the electronic properties of iron atoms with different oxygen coordinations. The oxygen-(3 × 2) structure on the iron monolayer was recognized and was interpreted to be a state with oxygen chemisorbed on the non-reconstructed surface with modest electron transfer from iron to oxygen. A transition from chemisorbed oxygen to the onset of Fe-oxidation is revealed by distinct changes in the CEMS spectra.