Heteroepitaxial growth of novel MoO3 nanostructures on Au(1 1 1)

Abstract

We have developed a synthetic procedure that yields novel nanocrystalline, islands of MoO3 on Au(111). Careful control of the growth conditions yields monolayer islands with a rectangular unit cell that is aligned with the Au substrate. These structures are distinctly different than either bulk MoO3 or than ramified, two-dimensional MoO3 islands formed on Au(111) which were recently reported [J. Am. Chem. Soc. 125 (2003) 8059, Surf. Sci. 512 (2002) L353]. The atomic structure of these single-layer MoO3 islands has been characterized by scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM), low energy electron diffraction (LEED), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). We discuss our synthetic method and important characteristics of the MoO3 islands.