We have investigated the structure and morphology of nanosized palladium clusters supported by a thin Al 2 O 3 film on NiAl(110) using scanning tunneling microscopy. Well-ordered clusters with a diameter above ഠ40 Å were imaged with atomic resolution, allowing a crystallographic identification of the cluster facets. A new method to obtain quantitative information on the work of adhesion (adhesion energy) of metal clusters deposited on oxides is introduced. For Pd on Al 2 O 3 we obtain a value of W adh 2.8 6 0.2 J͞m 2. This result is at variance with values recently derived on the basis of ab initio density-functional theory.

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