Changes of stoichiometry in reducible oxides are inevitably accompanied by changes of the oxide structure. We study the relationship between the stoichiometry and the structure in thin epitaxial films of reduced ceria, CeO x , 1.5 ≤ x ≤ 2, prepared via an interface reaction between a thin ceria film on Cu(111) and a Ce metal deposit. We show that the transition between the limiting stoichiometries CeO 2 and Ce 2 O 3 is realized by equilibration of mobile oxygen vacancies near the surface of the film, while the fluorite lattice of cerium atoms remains unchanged during the process. We identify two surface reconstructions representing distinct oxygen vacancy ordering during the transition, a (√7 × √7)R19.1°reconstruction representing a bulk termination of the ι-Ce 7 O 12 and a (3 × 3) reconstruction representing a bulk termination of CeO 1.67 . Due to the special property to yield ordered phases of reduced ceria the interface reaction between Ce and thin film ceria represents a unique tool for oxygen vacancy engineering. The perspective applications include advanced model catalyst studies with both the concentration and the coordination of oxygen vacancies precisely under control. ■ INTRODUCTIONReducible oxides play an important role in heterogeneous catalysis. 1−7 Due to their ability to store or release oxygen, reducible oxides usually act as an oxygen supply or a reducing agent during catalytic reactions. 8,9 Reactions over reducible oxides are typically accompanied by changes in the oxide stoichiometry that are often realized on complex phase diagrams 10−17 and may influence the catalytic activity through changes in local coordination, surface termination, and longrange ordering in the oxide. 18−21 Model studies isolating the changes of the oxide stoichiometry are of the utmost importance for understanding the role of stoichiometry in the reaction mechanisms over reducible oxides and for improving and developing new catalysts.The reactivity of cerium oxide-based catalysts is greatly influenced by the presence of oxygen vacancies in ceria. 22,23 The ability to adjust the concentration and the distribution of oxygen vacancies allows for the control over the reactivity and the selectivity of ceria-based catalysts. 24,25 For this reason, having experimental access to ordered phases of cerium oxide with different concentration and coordination of oxygen vacancies greatly enhances the possibilities of model catalytic studies. Several phases of ordered reduced ceria have been prepared in the past in the form of powder or single-crystal samples, 26−28 but only recently ordered reduced phases of ceria have been realized in the form of thin films on single crystalline supports. The thin film of the ι-Ce 7 O 12 phase on hexPr 2 O 3 (0001)/Si(111) substrate was obtained by Wilkens et al. via heating of the CeO 2 layer in vacuum. 29 A thin film of the c-Ce 2 O 3 phase on Cu(111) was obtained by our group via an alternative method of reducing the CeO 2 layer in an interface reaction with metallic Ce. 30 The thin film of the ...

Thin films of reduced ceria supported on metals are often applied as substrates in model studies of the chemical reactivity of ceria based catalysts. Of special interest are the properties of oxygen vacancies in ceria. However, thin films of ceria prepared by established methods become increasingly disordered as the concentration of vacancies increases. Here, we propose an alternative method for preparing ordered reduced ceria films based on the physical vapor deposition and interfacial reaction of Ce with CeO2 films. The method yields bulk-truncated layers of cubic c-Ce2O3. Compared to CeO2 these layers contain 25% of perfectly ordered vacancies in the surface and subsurface allowing well-defined measurements of the properties of ceria in the limit of extreme reduction. Experimentally, c-Ce2O3(111) layers are easily identified by a characteristic 4 × 4 surface reconstruction with respect to CeO2(111). In addition, c-Ce2O3 layers represent an experimental realization of a normally unstable polymorph of Ce2O3. During interfacial reaction, c-Ce2O3 nucleates on the interface between CeO2 buffer and Ce overlayer and is further stabilized most likely by the tetragonal distortion of the ceria layers on Cu. The characteristic kinetics of the metal-oxide interfacial reactions may represent a vehicle for making other metastable oxide structures experimentally available.

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The concentration of Ce3+ centers in Pt–CeO2 films determines the onset of reduction of atomically dispersed platinum species.

Structural transitions affect electronic structure of materials and consequently their catalytic properties. We report the observation of faceting of a low index metal surface at an oxide− metal interface in a catalytically relevant system of ceria on Cu(110). We observe formation of (13 13 1) facets on the Cu(110) surface covered by ceria upon annealing above 500°C. The faceting transition occurs in spite of a weak adsorbate−substrate interaction, which manifests itself in ceria adopting a carpet-like growth mode. We rationalize the surface faceting under such conditions by oxide overlayer-induced modification of the roughening temperature of Cu(110). We describe the carpet-like ceria film in terms of elasticity theory and show that the specific structure of the ceria supported on Cu(13 13 1) can lead to a periodic modulation of the electronic structure of the ceria−copper interface. The reported structural transition indicates that surface faceting of metal can occur at the oxide−metal interface at relatively low temperatures with possible consequences for the catalytic properties of the interface. The oxide overlayer induced faceting transition can be expected to occur for other oxide−metal combinations and, as such, has perspective applications in preparation of functional oxide−metal nanostructures.