Journal of Chemical Physics, Vol.106, No.19, 8254-8261, 1997
Helium Atom Scattering and HREELS Investigations of the H/Rh(311) Adsorption System
Hydrogen adsorption on Rh(311) at 110 K leads to the appearance of (1x1)H, (1x3)H, (1x2)H and (1x2)(REC) ordered layers. A previous He-atom scattering (HAS) investigation of the (1x1)H phase has revealed that its coverage is Theta=1 ML, whereby the H-atoms are adsorbed between the topmost bridge sites and the adjacent threefold hollow sites on the (111)-microfacets. In this paper we present a combined HAS and HREELS structural analysis of the higher coverage phases., The structures derived from the HAS data show that, starring with the (1x1)H phase, the (1x3)H is formed by the adsorption of H-atoms in the wells between every third close-packed row, whereas adsorption on the same sites but between every second row reads to the completion of the (1x2)H phase. Accordingly, the corresponding coverages are 4/3 ML and 3/2 ML. The HREELS results clearly demonstrate the existence of two different H-species in the(1x3)H phase and three in the (1x2)H phase, supporting the HAS results.