Journal of Chemical Physics, Vol.106, No.24, 10349-10358, 1997
The Diffusion of Oxygen on W(110) Revisited
The diffusion of oxygen on the (110) plane of tungsten has been reexamined via the field emission fluctuation method, using a digital correlation apparatus. Measurements were carried out over a coverage range of 0.13 less than or equal to O/W less than or equal to 0.79. Where overlap exists activation energies agree well with previous work; there is qualitative but not quantitative agreement with prefactors D-0. Mean-square fluctuations show very little temperature dependence. The present results show that E rises almost linearly from 14 kcal/mol at O/W less than or equal to 0.2 to 23 kcal/mol at O/W=0.4, then shows a slight dip at O/W=0.56 and then rises again to 27 kcal/mol at O/W=0.79. D-0=4X10(-8) cm(2)/s at O/W=0.13, and rises by six orders of magnitude to 5X10(-2) cm(2)/s at O/W=0.79. It is postulated that the increases in E and D-0 with coverage have their origin in polaronic effects, to wit the participation of substrate atoms in the diffusion process and a progressive stiffening of the substrate by O atoms as coverage increases.
Keywords:EMISSION CURRENT-FLUCTUATIONS;110 PLANE;SURFACE-DIFFUSION;AUTO-CORRELATION;TUNGSTEN;COEFFICIENTS