Early-stage suppression of Cu (001) oxidation

In situ synchrotron x-ray studies of the early-stage oxidation behavior of Cu (001) reveal that for Cu2O nanoislands, the Cu-Cu2O equilibrium phase boundary is shifted to larger oxygen partial pressure (pO(2)) by many orders of magnitude relative to bulk Cu2O. Real-time scattering measurements find that an ordered surface structure appears with increasing pO(2), followed by the nucleation of epitaxial Cu2O nanoislands. By adjusting the pO(2), it is possible to reversibly grow or shrink these islands and accurately determine the equilibrium phase boundary. These observations provide insight into the general stability of oxide nanoclusters grown by various techniques. (c) 2005 American Institute of Physics.