From a low-energy electron diffraction study of the {110} surface of palladium it was concluded that an oscillatory relaxation occurred with respect to the bulk interlayer spacing in the top two layers of a laterally unreconstructed surface. The first and second interlayer spacings were found to be −6±2% and 1±2%, respectively, with respect to the bulk value. These results compare with embedded atom theory predictions that a first layer contraction of ≈11% occurred. Low coverages of the alkali metals Cs and Na were shown to induce a (1 x 2) reconstruction of the Pd{110} surface. Details of the coverage and alkali metal dependence of the (1 x 1) to (1 x 2) phase transition were presented. A low-energy electron diffraction study was carried out to examine the feasibility of a wide range of possible structures exhibiting the required lateral periodicity. Models were favoured in which all selvedge atoms remain at, or near, bulk-like positions, the so-called missing row and saw-tooth models being the most satisfactory then tested.

A LEED Structural Study of the Pd{110}-(1 x 1) Surface and an Alkali-Metal-Induced (1 x 2) Surface Reconstruction. C.J.Barnes, M.Q.Ding, M.Lindroos, R.D.Diehl, D.A.King : Surface Science, 1985, 162[1-3], 59-73