Oxygen-stabilized Rh adatoms: 0D oxides on a vicinal surface

F. Mittendorfer, T. Franz, J. Klikovits, M. Schmid, L.R. Merte, S. Shah Zaman, P. Varga, R. Westerström, A. Resta, J.N. Andersen, J. Gustafson, E. Lundgren

Institut für Angewandte Physik, Technische Universität Wien, 1040 Wien, Austria
Faculty of Physics and Center for Computational Materials Science, University of Vienna, 1090 Wien, Austria
Division of Synchrotron Radiation Research, Lund University, Box 118, S-22100 Sweden

J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2 (2011) 2747-2751

We have investigated the initial oxidation of the Rh(113) and Rh(223) vicinal surfaces by STM and ab initio simulations. Upon adsorption of small amounts of oxygen, the surface morphology is completely altered. Surprisingly, oxygen-stabilized Rh adatoms can be observed on the (113) facets, with oxide-like electronic properties. We present models of these "0D oxide" phases and discuss reasons for their stability.

Corresponding author: Michael Schmid (schmid at iap_tuwien_ac_at).

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