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Self-organization of S adatoms on Au(111): √3R30° rows at low coverage
Holly Walen1, Da-Jiang Liu2, Junepyo Oh3
1Department of Chemistry, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011, USA.
The Journal of Chemical Physics
|July 10, 2015
Summary
Sulfur atoms form short rows on gold surfaces at low coverage. These rows adopt specific orientations, a finding reproduced by advanced computational models.
Area of Science:
- Surface science
- Condensed matter physics
- Materials science
Background:
- The Au(111) surface reconstructs at room temperature.
- Sulfur adsorption on metal surfaces is crucial for catalysis and electronics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the adlayer structure of sulfur on Au(111) at low coverage.
- To understand the atomic arrangement and ordering of sulfur adatoms.
Main Methods:
- Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) for atomic-scale imaging.
- Density functional theory (DFT) for calculating energetics.
- Monte Carlo (MC) simulations for modeling adlayer structures.
Main Results:
- Observed short rows of sulfur (S) atoms on unreconstructed Au(111) at low coverage (<0.1 monolayer).
- Sulfur rows exhibit three orientations, rotated 30° from close-packed directions.
- Adjacent S atoms in rows are separated by √3 * a, where 'a' is the surface lattice constant.
Conclusions:
- Linear S atom rows form readily on Au(111) under specific conditions.
- Lattice-gas models with long-range interactions accurately predict the observed S adlayer structure.
