Formation of BN-covered silicene on ZrB2/Si(111) by adsorption of NO and thermal processes.

We have investigated the adsorption and thermal reaction processes of NO with silicene spontaneously formed on the ZrB2/Si(111) substrate using synchrotron radiation x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and density-functional theory calculations. NO is dissociatively adsorbed on the silicene surface at 300 K. An atomic nitrogen is bonded to three Si atoms most probably by a substitutional adsorption with a Si atom of silicene (N≡Si3). An atomic oxygen is inserted between two Si atoms of the silicene (Si-O-Si). With increasing NO exposure, the two-dimensional honeycomb silicene structure gets destroyed, judging from the decay of typical Si 2p spectra for silicene. After a large amount of NO exposure, the oxidation state of Si becomes Si4+ predominantly, and the intensity of the XPS peaks of the ZrB2 substrate decreases, indicating that complicated silicon oxinitride species have developed three-dimensionally. By heating above 900 K, the oxide species start to desorb from the surface, but nitrogen-bonded species still exist. After flashing at 1053 K, no oxygen species is observed on the surface; SiN species are temporally formed as a metastable species and BN species also start to develop. In addition, the silicene structure is restored on the ZrB2/Si(111) substrate. After prolonged heating at 1053 K, most of nitrogen atoms are bonded to B atoms to form a BN layer at the topmost surface. Thus, BN-covered silicene is formed on the ZrB2/Si(111) substrate by the adsorption of NO at 300 K and prolonged heating at 1053 K.

Kinetic and geometric isotope effects originating from different adsorption potential energy surfaces: cyclohexane on Rh(111).

Novel isotope effects were observed in desorption kinetics and adsorption geometry of cyclohexane on Rh(111) by the use of infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy, temperature programmed desorption, photoelectron spectroscopy, and spot-profile-analysis low energy electron diffraction. The desorption energy of deuterated cyclohexane (C(6)D(12)) is lower than that of C(6)H(12). In addition, the work function change by adsorbed C(6)D(12) is smaller than that by adsorbed C(6)H(12). These results indicate that C(6)D(12) has a shallower adsorption potential than C(6)H(12) (vertical geometric isotope effect). The lateral geometric isotope effect was also observed in the two-dimensional cyclohexane superstructures as a result of the different repulsive interaction between interfacial dipoles. The observed isotope effects should be ascribed to the quantum nature of hydrogen involved in the C-H···metal interaction.