Nucleation of Pb starfish clusters on the five-fold Al-Pd-Mn quasicrystal surface
| Title | Nucleation of Pb starfish clusters on the five-fold Al-Pd-Mn quasicrystal surface |
| Publication Type | Journal Article |
| Year of Publication | 2009 |
| Authors | Ledieu J, Krajci M, Hafner J, Leung L, Wearing LH, McGrath R, Lograsso TA, Wu D, Fournee V |
| Journal Title | Physical Review B |
| Volume | 79 |
| Pages | 165430 |
| Date Published | 04/01 |
| ISBN Number | 1098-0121 |
| Accession Number | ISI:000265945200108 |
| Keywords | ab initio calculations, adsorption, alpdmn icosahedral phase, augmented-wave method, density functional theory, electronic-structure, lead, metal clusters, nucleation, quasicrystals, scanning tunnelling microscopy, total energy, total-energy calculations |
| Abstract | The nucleation of Pb clusters on the five-fold Al-Pd-Mn quasicrystal surface has been investigated using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and ab initio calculations based on density-functional theory (DFT). In the submonolayer regime, Pb atoms are highly mobile and adsorb preferentially within equatorially truncated pseudo-Mackay clusters present at the surface. The decoration of these unique adsorption sites leads to the formation of five-fold islands dubbed "starfish" and eventually to a quasiperiodic Pb monolayer. From a comparison of measured and calculated STM images it is concluded that most starfish clusters on all terraces are composed of ten Pb adatoms. A model of the structure of the starfish cluster has been proposed. Our total-energy calculations confirm its stability. The experimentally measured height profile of the starfish cluster is also reproduced by the DFT calculations. |
| URL | <Go to ISI>://000265945200108 |
| DOI | 10.1103/Physrevb.79.165430 |
