The formation of a surface alloy for Ag/Ir(111) ultrathin films

At temperatures below the occurrence of thermal desorption of Ag atoms, the compositional and structural changes of Ag/Ir(111) films are investigated. From depth profiling measurements, we demonstrate that a small amount of silver atoms intermixes with iridium atoms in the interfacial layer to form a surface alloy. The three-dimensional rearrangement of iridium atoms by the ascending motion and dissociation at the steps provides an opportunity for silver adatoms incorporating into the Ir(111) surface. As the sample temperature increases for Ag/Ir(111), the logarithm of the intensity of the diffraction spot descends with an upswing around 450 K as revealed using low-energy electron diffraction technique. This shows an enhanced structural ordering by thermally annealing for Ag/Ir(111) films. The morphological change of the Ag/Ir(111) system coincides with the increasing mobility in a three-dimensional configuration of iridium atoms.

Graphical abstractDownload high-res image (237KB)Download full-size imageHighlights► The formation of a surface alloy for an Ag-Ir system is demonstrated. ► The rearrangement of Ir atoms causes the incorporating of Ag into the surface. ► An irreversible change of the surface morphology occurs above 700 K. ► The morphological change coincides with the increasing 3D mobility of Ir atoms.