Scanning-tunneling-microscopy study of the oxygen-induced reconstruction of Rh(110)

Abstract

Scanning-tunneling microscopy has been used to investigate the oxygen-induced c(2×2n) (n=3, 4, and 5) structures on Rh(110). The results show that oxygen induces a (1×n) reconstruction of the Rh substrate with every nth close-packed row along the [11¯0] direction missing. This is in contrast to other oxygen-induced reconstructions of face-centered-cubic (110) surfaces where [001] rows are missing, and implies a different driving mechanism for the present case. On the basis of the images and the symmetry of the diffraction patterns, structural models are proposed.