Abstract
Adsorption of oxygen on Cu(110) at 4 K has been investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy. We have observed that weakly bound, “trapped” molecules coexist with pairs of atoms which are preferentially oriented along and . Molecules and atoms are both adsorbed in hollow sites. Clustering of at step edges perpendicular to indicates substantial anisotropic mobility of the molecular precursor. It is concluded that precursor dynamics and multidimensionality of the potential energy surface have a dominant influence on the dissociative chemisorption of on Cu(110).
- Received 18 September 1996
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.78.1516
©1997 American Physical Society