A photoelectron diffraction study of the structure of PF3 adsorbed on Ni{in111}

Observation of hidden atomic order at the interface between Fe and topological insulator Bi2Te3

The first compelling evidence of unique atomic order at the ferromagnet Fe/topological insulator Bi₂Te₃ interface.

Molecular adsorption bond lengths at metal oxide surfaces: failure of current theoretical methods

New experimental structure determinations for molecular adsorbates on NiO(100) reveal much shorter Ni-C and Ni-N bond lengths for adsorbed CO and NH3 as well as NO (2.07, 1.88, 2.07 A) than previously computed theoretical values, with discrepancies up to 0.79 A, highlighting a major weakness of current theoretical descriptions of oxide-molecule bonding. Comparisons with experimentally determined bond lengths of the same species adsorbed atop Ni on metallic Ni(111) show values on the oxide surface that are consistently larger (0.1-0.3 A) than on the metal, indicating somewhat weaker bonding.

Tracking the motion of chemisorbed molecules on their adsorption sites

A new method, the time of flight-electron-stimulated desorption ion angular distribution method (TOF-ESDIAD), is described. The method permits the mapping of the lateral momentum distribution of adsorbed species on their adsorption sites. Examples of the study of the rotation of chemisorbed PF3 molecules and the frustrated lateral translation of chemisorbed CO molecules, both on single-crystal metal surfaces, are given. The observed anisotropy of the frustrated translation of CO is postulated to occur as a result of the 2pi* orbital alignment in chemisorbed CO along the close packed direction of the Cu(110) substrate.