SYNTHESIS AND STRUCTURE OF AL CLUSTERS SUPPORTED ON TIO2(110) - A SCANNING-TUNNELING-MICROSCOPY STUDY

Al clusters supported on TiO2(110) have been investigated using scanni ng tunneling microscopy. Al interacts strongly with the TiO2(110) surf ace at room temperature and becomes oxidized by abstracting oxygen fro m the interface region of the substrate. Highly oxidized Al clusters w ere found to disorder the TiO2 substrate in the low coverage regime (0 .05 ML) illustrating that Al exhibits a strong chemical interaction wi th the oxide substrate. Distinct changes in the TiO2(110) substrate fr om a ''row'' structure to a ''net'' structure due to Al interacting wi th oxygen in the topmost layer of the substrate are also observed. (C) 1998 American Vacuum Society. [S0734-2101(98)09404-4].