Campus Units
Chemistry, Materials Science and Engineering, Mathematics, Ames Laboratory
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2009
Journal or Book Title
The Journal of Chemical Physics
Volume
130
Issue
9
First Page
094701
DOI
10.1063/1.3078033
Abstract
Scanning tunneling microscopy studies reveal that trace amounts of adsorbed S below a critical coverage on the order of 10 mML have little effect on the coarsening and decay of monolayer Ag adatom islands on Ag(111) at 300 K. In contrast, above this critical coverage, decay is greatly accelerated. This critical value appears to be determined by whether all S can be accommodated at step edges. Accelerated coarsening derives from the feature that the excess S (above that incorporated at steps) produces significant populations on the terraces of metal-sulfur complexes, which are stabilized by strong Ag–S bonding. These include AgS2, Ag2S2, Ag2S3, and Ag3S3. Such complexes are sufficiently populous and mobile that they can potentially lead to greatly enhanced metal mass transport across the surface. This picture is supported by density functional theory analysis of the relevant energetics, as well as by reaction-diffusion equation modeling to assess the mechanism and degree of enhanced coarsening.
Rights
Copyright 2009 American Institute of Physics. This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and the American Institute of Physics.
Copyright Owner
American Institute of Physics
Copyright Date
2009
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Shen, Mingmin; Liu, Da-Jiang; Jenks, Cynthia J.; Thiel, Patricia A.; and Evans, James W., "Accelerated coarsening of Ag adatom islands on Ag(111) due to trace amounts of S: Mass-transport mediated by Ag–S complexes" (2009). Chemistry Publications. 21.
https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/chem_pubs/21
Included in
Materials Science and Engineering Commons, Mathematics Commons, Physical Chemistry Commons
Comments
The following article appeared in The Journal of Chemical Physics 130, no. 9 (2009): 094701, doi:10.1063/1.3078033.