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The design and performance of an experimental setup utilizing a magnetron sputtering source for production of beams of ionized size-selected clusters for deposition in ultra-high vacuum is described. For the case of copper cluster formation the influence of different source parameters is studied and analyzed. Size-selected clusters are deposited on substrates and the efficiency of an electrostatic quadrupole mass selector is tested. Height analysis using atomic force microscopy (AFM) demonstrates relative standard size deviations of 7%-10% for the particles of various sizes between 6 nm and 19 nm. Combined analysis by AFM and transmission electron microscopy reveals that the clusters preserve almost spherical shape after the deposition on amorphous carbon substrates. Supported nanoparticles of a few nanometres in diameter have crystalline structure with a face-centered cubic (fcc) lattice.

Atomically precise (catalytic) particles synthesized by a novel cluster deposition instrument

We present surface photovoltage (SPV) measurements of metal nanostructures on Si(111)-(7 Â 7) using scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy (STM/STS). Quantitative results are obtained from spatially resolved I(V) spectra under laser illumination. The SPV data of Ag nanoparticles deposited on Si(111)-(7 Â 7) are compared to results of a Si (111)

It is generally accepted that optimal particle sizes are key for efficient nanocatalysis. Much less attention is paid to the role of morphology and atomic arrangement during catalytic reactions. Here, we unravel the structural, stoichiometric, and morphological evolution of gas-phase produced and partially oxidized cobalt nanoparticles in a broad size range. Particles with diameters between 1.4 and 22 nm generated in cluster sources are size selected and deposited on amorphous alumina (Al2O3) and ultrananocrystalline diamond (UNCD) films. A combination of different techniques is employed to monitor particle properties at the stages of production, exposure to ambient conditions, and catalytic reaction, in this case, the oxidative dehydrogenation of cyclohexane at elevated temperatures. A pronounced size dependence is found, naturally classifying the particles into three size regimes. While small and intermediate clusters essentially retain their compact morphology, large particles transform into hollow spheres due to the nanoscale Kirkendall effect. Depending on the substrate, an isotropic (Al2O3) or anisotropic (UNCD) Kirkendall effect is observed. The latter results in dramatic lateral size changes. Our results shed light on the interplay between chemical reactions and the catalyst's structure and provide an approach to tailor the cobalt oxide phase composition required for specific catalytic schemes.

On Si(111)-(5×2)-Au it is shown that metallic sections of quantum wires between two doping adatoms establish a local electronic structure which is primarily defined by the section length. Such confined doping is a direct consequence of reduced dimensionality and is not observed in higher dimensions. Within a chain segment, the effect of a spatially independent charge-carrier concentration is superimposed by a Coulomb-like interaction due to the positively charged dopants. This offers a natural explanation for the relatively broad photoemission features and the complex appearance in scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy images.

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Using low-energy electron diffraction and scanning tunneling micrsocopy, we found that epitaxial NaCl films grown on Ge(100) with thicknesses up to (at least) 15 monolayers can be modulated with a period of six lattice constants and an amplitude directed mainly normal to their surface. The (6×1) periodicity on the NaCl films is induced by a preadsorbed Na layer at very low coverages (Θ≈0.06), that form chain structures with a sixfold periodicity in one dimension. At 10 monolayers thickness of NaCl a modulation amplitude of 0.28 Å was obtained.