In this thesis three studies of the geometric structure of the (110) surface of single crystal rutile TiO2 are presented. Firstly, quantitative low energy electron diffraction (LEED-IV) data acquired from TiO2(110)(1x1) are reanalysed to confirm the integrity of the previously reported optimized geometries by performing structural optimisation as a function of depth into the selvedge. The second study addresses the geometry of the x-linked (1x2) reconstruction of the same surface. Again, LEED-IV data are analysed to quantitatively determine the surface structure. Part of this effort involved substantial development of the code (SATLEED) employed for simulating the experimental data, to allow simultaneous optimisation of more than one surface termination. In contrast to recent scanning probe work, the analysis indicates that the surface consists of two differently relaxed Ti2O3 added rows. The last study concerns ab initio calculations of the structure of benzoate on TiO2(110)(1x1). Of particular interest is the impact of surface coverage on the orientation of the benzene ring. It is predicted that the benzene ring twists and tilts away from high symmetry with increasing coverage due to adsorbate-adsorbate interactions. No evidence is found to support the formation of benzoate dimers or trimers, as was concluded in earlier experimental work.

The threshold potentials were determined for the excitation energy necessary for low energy electrons to induce chemical reactions of carbon monoxide, and of nitric oxide adsorbed on a gold surface. The reactions were studied as a function of temperature (100 °C to 200 °C) and pressure (1.83 x 10-5 to 6.40 x 10-4 torr). The electron source was a thorium oxide coated iridium filament which was heated by a current between 1A and 3A to keep thermal distribution of the electrons to less than 0.4 ev. The reaction surface was a polycrystalline evaporated film prepared by subliming gold onto a stainless steel mesh support. Mass analysis was done by quadrupole mass spectrometry in a flow system. The general results of the research is that a technique has been developed to study the products of reactions of excited state atoms or molecules on metal surfaces. The electron-impact excitation method is an alternative to photochemical and other methods.

This thesis presents a series of electron impact ionization measurements on the gas phase targets of argon and krypton. The (e,2e) coincidence technique has been employed to measure the triple differential cross section (TDCS) using a new coincidence spectrometer designed to operate in the low energy regime (2 to 5 times the ionization energy) and in the coplanar geometry. The spectrometer is a conventional device utilizing a non-energy selected electron gun and two 1800 hemispherical electron analysers fitted with channel electron multipliers for detection of the outgoing electrons. A series of TDCS measurements were performed on the 3s inner-valence and 3p valence orbitals of argon employing coplanar asymmetric kinematics. Measurements for both orbitals were performed at an incident energy of 113.5 eV, ejected energies of 10, 7.5, 5 and 2 eV and a scattering angle of -15°. The energy of the scattered electron in each case was chosen to satis~' energy conservation and is dependent on the ionization energies of the different orbitals. The experimental cross sections are compared to theoretical TDCS calculations using the distorted wave Born approximation (DWBA) and variations of the DWBA in an attempt to investigate the role that post collisional interaction (PCI), polarization and electron exchange play in describing the TDCS in the low energy regime. To further extend this analysis, a series of TDCS measurements were performed on the 3s and 4s. orbitals of argon and krypton, respectively, employing coplanar symmetric kinematics. Measurements were performed for the 3s orbital at outgoing energies of 50, 20, 10 and 4eV and for the 4s orbital at outgoing energies of 85, 50, 20 and 10 eV. The kinematics were chosen to coincide with several of the (e,2e) measurements made in the same geometry on the 3p orbital of argon by Rouvellou et al (1998). The experimental results were again compared to a DWBA calculation and similar variations to those employed for the asymmetric measurements.

Nous avons étudié la structure de la surface de mica muscovite clivée à l?air par diffraction d?électrons lents en mode oscillant. Cette nouvelle méthode d?analyse structurale, que nous avons développée à partir d?un système optique standard de résolution conventionnelle, possède une grande sensibilité. En outre, elle permet de former des images de diffraction entières sans procéder, comme le font les autres diffractomètres à haute résolution, à une reconstitution ligne par ligne. Cette caractéristique permet aussi de réaliser des acquisitions d?image qui sont corrélées temporellement avec une excitation extérieure, ce qui rend possible toute une gamme d?expériences nouvelles, notamment dans le cadre de la réponse thermodynamique d?une surface au voisinage d?une transition de phase. Notre étude de la surface du mica muscovite par diffraction d?électrons lents en mode oscillant a permis pour la première fois de mettre en évidence la nanostructuration de sa couche superficielle. Notre interprétation est que lors du clivage, la surface du mica s?auto-organise pour former un arrangement d?îlots à l?intérieur desquels les atomes de potassium occupent les sites réguliers du cristal. Les îlots sont soit de taille définie soit séparés par une distance définie. Dans les zones interstitielles qui les séparent, les ions potassium, en concentration beaucoup plus faible, formeraient une couche amorphe.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1997. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 197-202). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1997. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 197-202). Also available on the Internet.

No description available.

Orientador: Richard Landers / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Fisica Gleb Wataghin / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-09T10:50:19Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Pancotti_Alexandre_M.pdf: 2977317 bytes, checksum: 914d690fda86677fcc9c894c6f408409 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2005 / Resumo: Nesse trabalho nos propomos a estudar a estrutura eletrônica e geométrica de ligas de superfície à partir de filmes ultra finos, da ordem de monocamada atômica , crescidos por MBE sobre substratos monocristalinos. Os filmes finos foram crescidos in situ e analizados por XPS (X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy), PED (Photoelectron Diffraction), LEED (Low Energy Electron Diffraction) e UPS (Ultra Violet Photoelectron Spectroscopy). As ligas de superfície estudas foram InPd, SnPd e SbPd sempre sobre um substrato de Pd(111). Os resultados das medidas PED dos sistemas InPd e SnPd foram interpretadas usando programas tipo MSCD[1]. Foi mostrado que Sn e In em baixa cobertura formam uma estrutura (raiz2 3 x raiz2 3) R 30o ( e o In mostrou uma estrutura (1x1) para filmes com mais de 2 monocamadas, provavelmente na forma de ilhas sobre a superfície do Pd. Estudos anteriores mostraram que Sb sobre Pd(111) também apresenta a fase (raiz2 3 x raiz2 3)R 30o para baixas coberturas[2]. Os modelos que melhor se adequaram aos dados sugerem fortemente que os metais sp(In, Sn,e Sb) não difundem além da segunda monocamada. Durante estes estudos foi observado que a intensidade do satélite de shake-up do Pd tendia a zero para os átomos em contato direto com os metais s / Abstract: The purpose of this report is to present a study of the electronic and geometric structure of surface alloys grown by MBE (Molecular Beam Epitaxy) on single crystal substrates in the sub monolayer regime. The films were grown "in-situ" in the analysis chamber and analyzed by XPS (X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy), PED (Photoelectron Diffraction), LEED (Low Energy Electron Diffraction) and UPS (Ultra Violet Photoelectron Spectroscopy). The alloys studied were InPd, SnPd e SbPd, all grown on the (111) face of a Pd crystal. The PED measurements for InPd and SnPd were analyzed using the MSCD code[3]. It was possible to show that for low coverages both metals formed a (raiz2 3 x raiz2 3) R 30o ( reconstruction and the first inter-planar distances were determined. For films with over two monolayers the In grew with a (1x1) structure probably in the form of islands separated by clean Pd. Previous studies showed that Sb[4] at low coverage also forms a (raiz2 3 x raiz2 3) R 30o ( structure. Our simulations suggest that In, Sn and Sb for the coverages studied do not diffuse beyond the second atomic layer. We also observed that the intensity of the Pd shake up satellite tends to zero for the Pd atoms in contact with these sp metals / Mestrado / Física da Matéria Condensada / Mestre em Física

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A catalytic route to hydrogen production via thermochemical water splitting is highly desirable because it directly converts thermal energy into stored chemical energy in the form of hydrogen and oxygen. Recently, the Davis group at Caltech reported an innovative low-temperature (max 850°C) catalytic cycle for thermochemical water splitting based on sodium and manganese oxides (Xu, Bhawe and Davis, PNAS, 2012). The key steps are thought to be hydrogen evolution from a Na₂CO₃/MnO mixture, and oxygen evolution by thermal reduction of solids formed by Na⁺ extraction from NaMnO₂. Our work is aimed at understanding the fundamental chemical processes involved in the catalytic cycle, especially the hydrogen evolution from water. In this project, efforts are made to understand the interactions between the key components (Na, O₂, CO₂, and water) in the hydrogen evolution steps on a well-defined MnO(100) single crystal surface, utilizing x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), low energy electron diffraction (LEED) and temperature programmed desorption (TPD). While some of the behavior of the catalytic system is observed with the model system developed in this work, hydrogen is only produced from water in the presence of metallic sodium, in contrast to the proposal of Xu et al. that water splitting occurs from the reaction of water with a mixture of Na₂CO₃ and MnO. These differences are discussed in light of the different operating conditions for the catalytic system and the surface science model developed in this work. / Ph. D.