Adsorbate-induced reconstructions and nanostructures on high-index copper surfaces

High-index copper surfaces generally show a strong tendency to reconstruct, forming one- or even two-dimensional periodic nanostructures. In this pape r, a survey will be presented of the various oxygen-induced reconstructions reported on high-index copper surfaces. In particular, the reconstructions of the Cu(210)-O system are presented, as revealed by low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) and scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM). The adsorption of oxygen leads to a series of (n X 1) (n = 4,3,2) surface reconstructions , the Cu(210)-(2 x 1)O structure being the most stable. Quantitative LEED a nalysis confirms an added row model comprising Cu-O-Cu rows along the [001] direction on the topmost layer with oxygen at the long bridge sites. A ran ge of faceting behaviour and nanostructure formation is also observed for t he Cu(210)-O and Cu(210)-Br systems, and compared with other high- and low- index Cu surfaces. Copyright (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons.