Double-segregation effect in AgxPd1-x/Ru(0001) thin film nanostructures

• We study the structural properties of ultrathin AgxPd1-x films on top of a Ru(0001) substrate. Effective interatomic interactions, obtained from first-principles calculations, have been used in Monte Carlo simulations to derive the distribution of the alloy components in a four-monolayer (4-ML) Ag-Pd film. Though Ag-Pd alloys show complete solubility in the bulk, the thin film geometry leads to a pronounced segregation between Ag and Pd atoms with a strong preference of Ag atoms toward the surface and Pd atoms toward the interface. The theoretical prediction of this double-segregation effect is strongly supported by photoelectron spectroscopy experiments carried out for 4-ML thin films. We also show, in an additional experiment, that even in the case where initially 1 ML Ag is buried under 6 ML Pd, the whole Ag ML segregates to the surface.

Nyckelord

coherent-potential approximation

transition-metal alloys

surface

segregation

cu-ni

1st-principles

energy

model

pd

stability

ru(0001)

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