Formate-induced destabilization of the Cu(1 1 0) surface

Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) images show that adsorbed formate has a profound affect on the step edges of Cu(1 1 0) surfaces at room temperature. For low exposures, the presence of formate enhances step fluctuations as confirmed by a correlation function analysis. For formate coverages approaching 0.5 monolayers, drastic restructuring of step edges is observed. Quantum chemical calculations help to explain this behavior.