The stability of the Au(1 1 0)-(1  ×  3) surface reconstruction in electrochemical environments

Changes in the reflection anisotropy (RAS) profile of the Au(1 1 0)-(1  ×  3)/Na2SO4 interface over 25 h are attributed to the slow accumulation of impurities on the Au(1 1 0) surface which reduce the intensity of a transition involving a surface state that makes a positive contribution to the RAS profile at 1.8 eV. The growth in the intensity of a feature that makes a negative contribution to the RAS profile at 2.6 eV and the reduction in the intensity of contributions to higher energy is attributed to shifts in the energy of the surface band structure relative to the Fermi level caused by the accumulation of impurities. There is no clear explanation of the subsequent decay of the 2.6 eV feature or the long term reduction in intensity to high energy of the RAS profile.