Oxygen-induced reconstruction of the Pd(110) surface was studied by scanning tunnelling microscopy, low-energy electron diffraction and Auger electron spectroscopy. The scanning tunnelling microscopy images revealed the creation of missing and/or added row structures, where the distances between the closed packed Pd [1¯10] rows depended upon the oxygen coverages. At a low coverages (≈0.2ML), islands of rows with a 3-times periodic separation in the [001] direction, that was “(1 x 3)”, dominated. With increasing coverage, the “(1 x 2)” and “(1 x 3)” structures start to co-exist, and the “(1 x 2)” structure was completed at a coverage of 0.5ML. The corresponding low-energy electron diffraction pattern of c(2 x 4)-O originated from the (1 x 2) “missing-row” type reconstruction of Pd atoms with oxygen atoms adsorbed in a zig-zag manner. Subsequent removal of adsorbed oxygen atoms from the Pd(110)c(2 x 4)-O surface by the deuterium exposure results in the metastable (1 x 2) missing row structure at room temperature.

Oxygen-Induced Reconstruction of the Pd(110) Surface - an STM Study. H.Tanaka, J.Yoshinobu, M.Kawai: Surface Science, 1995, 327[1-2], L505-9