Alkali Metal Adsorbates on W(110): Ionic, Covalent, or Metallic?

Authors

D. Mark Riffe, Utah State UniversityFollow
G. K. Wertheim
P. H. Citrin

Document Type

Article

Journal/Book Title/Conference

Physical Review Letters

Volume

64

Issue

5

Publication Date

1-29-1990

First Page

571

Last Page

574

Abstract

The photoemission signal from the first atomic layer of W(110) is used to assess the nature of the interaction between the surface atoms of the metal substrate and the adsorbates Na, K, and Cs for coverages up to 1 atomic layer. Our results indicate that there is little or no charge transfer from the alkali metal to the W surface, even in the limit of low coverage. The satellite structure of the photoemission lines of the outermost p shell of the alkali metals confirms this conclusion. While contrary to the conventional picture of alkali-metal-charge donation, these findings fully support recent theoretical calculations.

Comments

Published by American Physical Society in Physical Review Letters. Publisher PDF is available for download through link above.

Recommended Citation

"Alkali Metal Adsorbates on W(110): Ionic, Covalent, or Metallic?," D. M. Riffe, G. K. Wertheim, and P. H. Citrin, Phys. Rev. Lett. 64, 571 (1990).