Co deposition on Au(111) and Au(100) electrodes: an in situ STM study

The initial stages of Co deposition onto Au(111) and Au(100) electrodes hav e been investigated by cyclic voltammetry and in situ scanning tunnelling m icroscopy (STM). Special emphasis was placed on the nucleation behaviour at surface defects such as monoatomic high steps. Depending on the crystallog raphic orientation of the substrate and on the electrochemical parameters, either three- or two-dimensional growth has been observed. Because Co depos ition occurs at potentials, at which gold surfaces are reconstructed normal ly, the influence of surface reconstruction on the nucleation-and-growth be haviour is addressed briefly. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights res erved.