“…This result does not depend dramatically on the chosen pressure of lo-6 Torr. At lo-1 Torr, for example, the temperatures at which the oxides would decompose are increased at most by 200 K. In spite of this thermodynamic instability, penetration of oxygen into the bulk (4,(27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)46) and the formation of oxides in the near surface region of the noble metals has been reported in many surface studies. These include the surfaces of Ir(llO) (17), Ir(lll) (16), Pt(lll) (8,(10)(11)(12)(13)33), Pt(lOO) (13), Pt(llO) (9,12), Rh(lll) (18), Pd(lll) (19), polycrystalline Pd (32), Ru(lOl) (31), and Au(lll) (20).…”