The self-assembly of metallic nanowires

We have demonstrated that nickel adatoms self-assemble into quasi one-dimensional nanowires on vicinal Rh(1 1 1) surfaces by decorating their regular monoatomic step arrays, while V adatoms do not. The step decoration process has been followed experimentally by variable-temperature scanning tunnelling microscopy and high-resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The physical origin of the different step-assisted self-assembly behaviour of Ni and V adatoms has been elucidated theoretically and is ascribed to different diffusion barriers and trapping capability of Ni and V at Rh steps.