Low-energy electron diffraction (LEED), scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and density functional theory (DFT) calculations have been used to investigate the atomic and electronic structure of gold deposited (between 0.8 and 1.0 monolayer) on the Pt(111) face in ultrahigh vacuum at room temperature. The analysis of LEED and STM measurements indicates two-dimensional growth of the first Au monolayer. Change of the measured surface lattice constant equal to 2.80 Å after Au adsorption was not observed. Based on DFT, the distance between the nearest atoms in the case of bare Pt(111) and Au/Pt(111) surface is equal to 2.83 Å, which gives 1% difference in comparison with STM values. The first and second interlayer spacing of the clean Pt(111) surface are expanded by +0.87% and contracted by −0.43%, respectively. The adsorption energy of the Au atom on the Pt(111) surface is dependent on the adsorption position, and there is a preference for a hollow fcc site. For the Au/Pt(111) surface, the top interlayer spacing is expanded by +2.16% with respect to the ideal bulk value. Changes in the electronic properties of the Au/Pt(111) system below the Fermi level connected to the interaction of Au atoms with Pt(111) surface are observed.

Optimisation of epitaxial anatase TiO2 thin films grown on LaAlO3(001) substrates was performed using ultra-high vacuum based pulsed laser deposition (PLD) and studied by insitu reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED). In addition, ex-situ X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) were performed to characterise the bulk properties of these thin films. The deposited TiO2 thin film is demonstrated to have anatase phase and bonded directly to the LaAlO3(001) substrate. In a separate ultra-high vacuum system low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) and scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) measurements were performed and a well-ordered two-domain (14) and (41) reconstruction of anatase surface was observed. Analysis of the STM measurements indicates the coexistence of atomic steps of both 2.5 Å and 5.0 Å, confirming the existence of two TiO2 domains. The atomic resolution STEM images reveal that the TiO2/LaAlO3 interface to be terminated with LaO layer and that the anatase-TiO2 reconstruction was found to be stable during the film growth.

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