The growth mode of silver films deposited at room temperature on TiO 2(110) surfaces has been examined by means of atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) in ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) conditions, On clean vacancy-free TiO 2(110) surfaces, 0.1-nm-thick (on average) Ag deposits form a two-dimensional (2D) layer. When the thickness of the silver overlayer is increased, 3D clusters are shown to appear while the 2D film is preserved, furthermore, the influence of surface oxygen vacancies on the growth of Ag/TiO 2(110) is evidenced by well-characterized differences in the morphology of 9-nm-thick silver deposits.
Two-Dimensional X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy for Composite Surface Analysis