A comparison of adsorbate-induced faceting on flat and curved crystal surfaces

Adsorbate-induced thermal faceting on flat and curved crystal surfaces is compared. Two adsorption systems are investigated: O/W and Pd/W. Each of these systems is studied by two experimental techniques: scanning tunneling microscopy (flat surface), and field ion microscopy (curved surface). The experimental results are in accord with a solid-on-solid model applied for planar and spherical crystal shapes. Both experimental and theoretical results show that the shape of the facets is different for flat and curved surfaces, but the distance between the parallel facet edges is comparable.