The interaction of atomic hydrogen with Cu(110)

Abstract

The interaction of atomic hydrogen with Cu(110) has been investigated by thermal desorption spectroscopy and by surface state spectroscopy using ultraviolet photoemission and inverse photoemission. Atomic H first forms a chemisorption layer, which saturates at a coverage of ∼ 0.5 monolayers. At low temperature further exposure leads to a thermal desorption peak which was not observed hitherto. We attribute it to H absorption into subsurface sites. The surface state shifts caused by the adsorption of hydrogen on Cu(110) show striking parallels to those observed upon hydrogen adsorption on Ni(110). The (1 × 2) reconstruction of the H/Cu(110) surface gives rise to a surface state shift which is characteristic for a missing or added row phase. The intensity variation of the surface states during the formation of the (1 × 2) phase indicates the formation of large islands. An occupied surface state on H/Cu(110) contributes to the stabilization of these islands.