The properties of palladium clusters, generated with the electrochemical scanning tunneling microscope, have been investigated both by experiments and by computer simulations. The clusters are found to be larger and more stable if the tip is moved further towards the electrode surface in the generation process. The simulations suggest that the larger clusters consist of a palladium–gold mixture, which is more stable than pure palladium. Dissolution of the clusters occurs from the edges rather than layer by layer.

1.
D. M.
Kolb
,
R.
Ullmann
, and
T.
Will
,
Science
275
,
1097
(
1997
).
2.
D. M.
Kolb
,
G. E.
Engelmann
, and
J. C.
Ziegler
,
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl.
39
,
1123
(
2000
).
3.
M. G.
Del Pópolo
,
E. P. M.
Leiva
, and
W.
Schmickler
,
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl.
40
,
4674
(
2001
).
4.
U. Landman and W. D. Luedtke, Consequences of Tip-Sample Interactions, in Scanning Tunneling Microscopy III, edited by R. Wiesendanger and H. J. Güntherodt (Springer, Berlin, 1993);
U.
Landman
,
W. D.
Luedtke
,
N. A.
Burnham
, and
R. J.
Colton
,
Science
248
,
454
(
1990
).
5.
M. Del Popolo, E. P. M. Leiva, H. Kleine, J. Meier, U. Stimming, M. Mariscal, and W. Schmickler (unpublished).
6.
M.
Binggeli
,
D.
Carnal
,
R.
Nyffenegger
,
H.
Siegenthaler
,
R.
Christoph
, and
H.
Rohrer
,
J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B
9
,
1985
(
1991
).
7.
Scanning Probe Microscopy and Spectroscopy, edited by D. Bonnel (Wiley-VCH, New York, 2001).
8.
S. M.
Foiles
,
M. I.
Baskes
, and
M. S.
Daw
,
Phys. Rev. B
33
,
7983
(
1986
).
9.
A.
Vaught
,
T. W.
Jing
, and
S. M.
Lindsay
,
Chem. Phys. Lett.
236
,
306
(
1995
).
This content is only available via PDF.
You do not currently have access to this content.