DEPOSITION OF AU ON A SULFUR COVERED MO(100) SURFACE - ADSORBATE ADSORBATE INTERACTION AND GROWTH

Gold was deposited on a clean and on a sulfided Mo(001) surface to study the initial stages of growth and the influence of chemisorbed layers. On the clean surface, Au forms a c(2 X 2) structure at low coverages. At coverages above half of a monolayer more complicated structures are revealed by low energy electron diffraction and scanning tunneling microscopy. On the sulfided surface, Au was found to bind directly to the metal by displacing the S to a higher coverage structure. At sulfur saturation Au forms three-dimensional clusters separated by areas covered by sulfur in the highest coverage structure.