Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO) and Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, DK 8000, Denmark.
Nanotechnology. 2010 Jul 2;21(26):265602. doi: 10.1088/0957-4484/21/26/265602. Epub 2010 Jun 10.
We demonstrate that the characteristic [Formula in text] reconstructed surface of alpha-alumina (Al(2)O(3)) acts as a nanotemplate for the growth of well-ordered monodisperse arrays of Ni nanoclusters. Due to the insulating nature of the substrate we use dynamic scanning force microscopy operated in the non-contact mode (NC-AFM) to characterize the nanotemplate, to examine the size and distribution of metallic clusters on the surface and to investigate their position with respect to the surface atomic structure. The present NC-AFM results for the interaction of Ni with alpha-Al(2)O(3) are supported by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The ability of alpha-Al(2)O(3)(0001) to act as a nanotemplate is attributed to a spatially modulated affinity towards the accommodation of Ni into the top layer by substituting the surface Al atoms at certain sites on the [Formula in text] reconstructed surface formed by high-temperature annealing. The insulating template, demonstrated for Al(2)O(3), may be a generally attractive system for the study of nanostructures which need to be isolated from a conducting bulk.
我们证明，α-氧化铝（Al2O3）的特征[公式]重构表面可作为有序单分散 Ni 纳米团簇生长的纳米模板。由于我们使用的基底是绝缘的，因此我们采用在非接触模式（NC-AFM）下工作的动态扫描力显微镜来对纳米模板进行表征，以检查表面上金属团簇的大小和分布，并研究它们相对于表面原子结构的位置。Ni 与α-Al2O3 的相互作用的当前 NC-AFM 结果得到了密度泛函理论（DFT）计算的支持。α-Al2O3（0001）作为纳米模板的能力归因于通过在高温退火形成的[公式]重构表面的某些位置取代表面 Al 原子，对 Ni 进入顶层的容纳具有空间调制的亲和力。对于 Al2O3 来说，这种绝缘模板可能是一个非常有吸引力的系统，可用于研究需要与导电体隔离的纳米结构。
