The diffusion of isolated adatoms and small clusters was reviewed for transition

and noble metals adsorbed on the (001) surface of magnesium oxide. While

isolated adatoms diffuse by hopping among adsorption sites, small clusters such as

dimers, trimers and tetramers already displayed a variety of diffusion mechanisms,

from cluster hopping to rotation, sliding, leapfrog, walking, concertina, flipping,

twisting, rolling and rocking. Since most of the available results were

computational, the review was mostly related to theoretical work. Connection to

experiments was discussed where possible, mostly by dealing with the

consequences that adatom and small cluster mobility may have on the growth of

larger aggregates on the MgO(001) surface.

Diffusion of Adatoms and Small Clusters on Magnesium Oxide Surfaces.

R.Ferrando, A.Fortunelli: Journal of Physics - Condensed Matter, 2009, 21[26],

264001