Homoepitaxial electrodeposition on reconstructed and unreconstructed Au(100): An in-situ STM study

- Homoepitaxial electrodeposition on Au(100) is imaged by in-situ STM.
- 2D island formation is facilitated by adsorbed chloride on the unreconstructed Au(100) surface.
- The growth of Au proceeds strongly anisotropic on the reconstructed surface.

A study of homoepitaxial electrodeposition on reconstructed and unreconstructed Au(100) surfaces is presented. The growth behavior has been investigated by in-situ scanning tunneling microscopy for Au(100) in contact with 0.1 M H2SO4 + 5 μM K[AuCl4]. It is shown that the initial surface structure is decisive for the emerging Au structures, giving rise to clearly different surface morphologies for electro-crystallization of Au on the unreconstructed and on the reconstructed Au(100) surface. A layer-by-layer growth is observed at more positive potentials for unreconstructed Au(100). The electrodeposition proceeds initially by the formation of Au islands followed by island coalescence due to the high mobility of surface atoms. Monatomic recessed stripes are formed as a result of the coalescence of deposited Au islands. At more negative potentials, the growth of Au proceeds strongly anisotropic on the reconstructed surface by the formation of reconstructed elongated islands.