Quantum Confinement Induced Oscillatory Electric Field on a Stepped Pb(111) Film and Its Influence on Surface Reactivity

Journal Article · Mon Jan 06 00:00:00 EST 2014 · Physical Review B

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.89.041401· OSTI ID:1136869

Liu, Xiaojie ^[1]; Wang, Cai-Zhuang ^[2]; Hupalo, Myron ^[2]; Lin, Hai-Quing ^[3]; Ho, Kai-Ming ^[2]; Tringides, Michael C. ^[2]

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1. Beijing Computational Science Research Center (China); Ames Lab., Ames, IA (United States)
2. Ames Lab., Ames, IA (United States)
3. Beijing Computational Science Research Center (China)

When the thickness of ultrathin metal films approaches the nanometer scale comparable to the coherence length of the electrons, significant effects on the structure stability and the electronic properties of the metal films emerge due to electron confinement and quantization of the allowed electronic states in the direction perpendicular to the film. Using first-principles calculations, we showed that such quantum size effects can induce oscillatory electrostatic potential and thus alternating electric field on the surface of the wedge-shaped Pb(111) films. The alternating electric field has significant influence on surface reactivity, leading to selective even- or odd-layer adsorption preference depending on the charge state of the adatoms, consistent with the odd-layer preference of higher Mg coverage on wedge-shaped Pb(111) films, as observed in experiment.

• Research Organization: Ames Lab., Ames, IA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC)
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-07CH11358
• OSTI ID: 1136869
• Report Number(s): IS-J 8268
• Journal Information: Physical Review B, Vol. 89, Issue 04; ISSN 2469-9950
• Publisher: American Physical Society (APS)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE