Kinetics of the reaction of oxygen with clean nickel single crystal surfaces: II. Ni(111) surface

Abstract

Previous studies of the initial interaction of oxygen with clean single crystal surfaces of nickel, using AES, LEED, and work function change measurements, have been extended to the case of the Ni(111) surface. Results indicate that the course of the interaction in this case is very similar to that reported previously for the Ni (100) surface. The reaction proceeds by the initial formation of chemisorbed structures having a periodicity based on the nickel lattice. At a coverage of 0.34 monolayer, NiO islands nucleate and grow until the surface reaches a saturation coverage of 1.8 monolayer of NiO. The kinetics of this growth process are well explained by an island nucleation and growth model in which growth occurs by the dissociation of a molecularly adsorbed oxygen species at island perimeter sites.