Local Electronic Structure and Density of Edge and Facet Atoms at Rh Nanoclusters Self-Assembled on a Graphene Template
- Physics Department and CENMAT, University of Trieste, Via Valerio 2, I-34127 Trieste, Italy; Institute of Condensed Matter Physics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Station 3, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
- Department of Earth Sciences, Department of Physics and Astronomy, and London Centre for Nanotechnology, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom
- IOM-CNR Laboratorio TASC, Area Science Park, S.S. 14 Km 163.5, I-34149 Trieste, Italy
- Physics Department and CENMAT, University of Trieste, Via Valerio 2, I-34127 Trieste, Italy; IOM-CNR Laboratorio TASC, Area Science Park, S.S. 14 Km 163.5, I-34149 Trieste, Italy
- CNR-Institute for Complex Systems, Via Fosso del Cavaliere 100, 00133 Roma, Italy
- Sincrotrone Trieste S.C.p.A., Area Science Park, S.S. 14 Km 163.5, I-34149 Trieste, Italy
- Department of Earth Sciences, Department of Physics and Astronomy, and London Centre for Nanotechnology, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom; IOM-CNR, DEMOCRITOS National Simulation Centre, I-34100 Trieste, Italy
The chemical and physical properties of nanoclusters largely depend on their sizes and shapes. This is partly due to finite size effects influencing the local electronic structure of the nanocluster atoms which are located on the nanofacets and on their edges. Here we present a thorough study on graphene-supported Rh nanocluster assemblies and their geometry-dependent electronic structure obtained by combining high-energy resolution core level photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning tunneling microscopy, and density functional theory. We demonstrate the possibility to finely control the morphology and the degree of structural order of Rh clusters grown in register with the template surface of graphene/Ir(111). By comparing measured and calculated core electron binding energies, we identify edge, facet, and bulk atoms of the nanoclusters. We describe how small interatomic distance changes occur while varying the nanocluster size, substantially modifying the properties of surface atoms. The properties of under-coordinated Rh atoms are discussed in view of their importance in heterogeneous catalysis and magnetism.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF); UT-Battelle LLC/ORNL, Oak Ridge, TN (Unted States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-00OR22725
- OSTI ID:
- 1564834
- Journal Information:
- ACS Nano, Journal Name: ACS Nano Journal Issue: 4 Vol. 6; ISSN 1936-0851
- Publisher:
- American Chemical Society (ACS)
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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