Determination of atomic structure of the metal-oxide interface: Pd nanodeposits on an FeO(111) film.

Palladium was vapor deposited on a thin FeO(111) film grown on a Pt(111) substrate. Scanning tunneling microscopy study has revealed that Pd wets the FeO substrate and at elevated temperatures forms extended Pd(111) monolayer islands in contrast to other oxide supports previously studied. For the first time, we have imaged the metal-oxide interface structure with atomic resolution and explained the results on the basis of ab initio calculations.