Growth and Atomic‐Scale Characterization of Ultrathin Silica and Germania Films: The Crucial Role of the Metal Support

The present review reports on the preparation and atomic‐scale characterization of the thinnest possible films of the glass‐forming materials silica and germania. To this end state‐of‐the‐art surface science techniques, in particular scanning probe microscopy, and density functional theory calculati...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Chemistry : a European journal 2021-01, Vol.27 (6), p.1870-1885
Main Authors: Lewandowski, Adrián Leandro, Tosoni, Sergio, Gura, Leonard, Yang, Zechao, Fuhrich, Alexander, Prieto, Mauricio J., Schmidt, Thomas, Usvyat, Denis, Schneider, Wolf‐Dieter, Heyde, Markus, Pacchioni, Gianfranco, Freund, Hans‐Joachim
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
amorphous structures
Bilayers
Chemistry
Crystal structure
crystalline materials
Crystallinity
Density functional theory
Film growth
germania
Germanium
Germanium oxides
Gold
metal-supported films
Monolayers
Platinum
Review
Reviews
Scanning probe microscopy
Silica
Silica glass
Silicon dioxide
Thin films
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The present review reports on the preparation and atomic‐scale characterization of the thinnest possible films of the glass‐forming materials silica and germania. To this end state‐of‐the‐art surface science techniques, in particular scanning probe microscopy, and density functional theory calculations have been employed. The investigated films range from monolayer to bilayer coverage where both, the crystalline and the amorphous films, contain characteristic XO4 (X=Si,Ge) building blocks. A side‐by‐side comparison of silica and germania monolayer, zigzag phase and bilayer films supported on Mo(112), Ru(0001), Pt(111), and Au(111) leads to a more general comprehension of the network structure of glass former materials. This allows us to understand the crucial role of the metal support for the pathway from crystalline to amorphous ultrathin film growth. Ultrathin films: Comparison of silica and germania thin films to understand the crucial role of the metal support for the pathway from crystalline to amorphous structures.
ISSN:0947-6539
1521-3765
DOI:10.1002/chem.202001806