Roland Bliem

• Institut für Angewandte Physik, Technische Universität Wien
  Wiedner Hauptstr. 8-10/134, 1040 Wien, Austria
• Phone: (+43 1) 58801 - 13466
• email: [email address: lastname @ this server · enable javascript to see it]

• Graduate Student in the Surface Physics Group since 2013
• Member of the interdisciplinary doctoral school Solids4fun

In my graduate research, I am studying iron oxide surfaces using a broad range of surface science methods available in our group and density functional theory.
My PhD project is focused on the properties of the magnetite Fe3O4(001) surface and metal adsorption on this surface. This surface acts as a unique support
material of highly stable metal adatoms. The discovery of the high thermal stability of Au adatoms (Novotny et al. PRL 108, 216103 (2012)) up to 700 K set
the basis for attempting to transfer this property to different metals. However, the question of the underlying structural reason for the high stability remained
open. During my project, the surface structure was solved in collaboration with the groups of Dr. Lutz Hammer (Chair of Solid State Physics, University of Erlangen)
and Prof. Peter Blaha (Institute of Materials Chemistry, TU Wien). In parallel, the high stability of single metal adatoms at room temperature was demonstrated
to be a fundamental property of the surface. The repertoire of deposited metals has been extended to include Al, Ag, Au, Co, Cu, Fe, Ir, Mn, Ni, Pd, Pt, Rh, Sn, Ti,
and Zr. Regarding the adsorption behavior and stability, two types of behavior can be distinguished: Metal adatoms which are highly stable up to 700 K but form
clusters once the stability is broken (e.g. Au, Ag) and metals which can be incorporated into the surface lattice.

The highlights of the iron oxides project:
The surface cation vacancy structure of the Fe3O4(001) surface was determined
The Pt-catalyzed CO oxidation involving the surface was shown at this surface.
Trends in the adsorption behavior of metals were identified (clustering, incorporation)

Publications on Iron Oxides and Metal Adsorption:

An Atomic-Scale View of CO and H2 Oxidation on a Pt/Fe3O4 Model Catalyst, Angewandte Chemie International Edition 54, 13999 (2015)

Adsorption and incorporation of transition metals at the magnetite Fe3O4(001) surface. Physical Review B 92, 075440 (2015)

Subsurface cation vacancy stabilization of the magnetite (001) surface, Science 346, 1215 (2014)

Cluster Nucleation and Growth from a Highly Supersaturated Adatom Phase: Silver on Magnetite. ACS Nano 8, 7531 (2014)

Please visit my Google Scholar profile for a full list of publications