Deformed Surface Oxides: Uncommon Structure of a (6x1) NiO Surface Oxide on Rh(111)

Author(s)
Thomas Franz, Jan Zabloudil, Florian Mittendorfer, Luca Gragnaniello, Georg Parteder, Francesco Allegretti, Svetlozar L. Surnev, Falko P. Netzer
Abstract

We have investigated the formation of a nickel, oxide monolayer on Rh(111) by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), high-resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy (HREELS), and density functional theory (DFT) calculations. This monolayer displays a corrugated (6 X 1) superstructure, with a formal Ni(5)O(5) stoichiometry. The interplay between polarity and interface energy leads to the formation of a structure with pronounced troughs, which may be regarded as a building deformation, containing building blocks derived from nonpolar (100) and polar (111) NiO surface terminations. The calculations also show that the (6 X 1) Ni(5)O(5) phase has a higher thermodynamic stability than the related octopolar NiO bulk terminations.

Organisation(s)
Computational Materials Physics
External organisation(s)
Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz
Journal
The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters
Volume
3
Pages
186-190
No. of pages
5
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1021/jz201527z
Publication date
2012
Peer reviewed
Yes
Austrian Fields of Science 2012
103020 Surface physics
Portal url
https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/2053d3a4-2699-4fd8-a8fd-6f3201e382b2