Growth of Vanadium and Vanadium Oxide on a Rh(110) Surface

Abstract

We have studied the epitaxial growth of thin layers of vanadium and vanadium oxide on a Rh(110) surface with low-energy electron diffraction (LEED), low-energy electron microscopy (LEEM), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Up to six monolayers of V/VOx were deposited with temperatures varying between 370 and 770 K. For V deposition, (1 × n) and (n × 1) overlayers with n = 2 and 4 are observed. For the deposition of 3 MLE of VOx, a (12 × 1) structure is obtained as a stable structure. XPS of V 2p3/2 reveals the simultaneous presence of an oxidic and a metallic or strongly reduced (V2+) V component.