On the geometrical and electronic structure of an ultra-thin crystalline silica film grown on Mo(1 1 2)

The atomic structure of a well-ordered silica film grown on a Mo(1 1 2) single crystal substrate is discussed in detail using the experimental and theoretical results available to date. New photoelectron spectroscopy results using synchrotron radiation and ultraviolet spectroscopy data are presented. The analysis unambiguously shows that the ultra-thin silica film consists of a two-dimensional network of corner-sharing [SiO4] tetrahedra chemisorbed on the unreconstructed Mo(1 1 2) surface. The review also highlights the important role of theoretical calculations in the determination of the atomic structure of the silica films and in interpretation of experimental data.