The adsorption of graphene on Ni(111) has been investigated on the basis of the adiabatic-connection fluctuation-dissipation theorem in the random phase approximation (RPA). Although we find a significant hybridization between the graphene π orbitals and Ni d z 2 states at a binding distance of 2.17Å, the adsorption energy is still in the range of a typical physisorption (67 meV per carbon). An important contribution to the energy is related to a decrease in the exchange energy resulting from the adsorption-induced lower symmetry in the graphene layer. The energetics can be well reproduced using the computationally significantly cheaper van der Waals density functional theory with an appropriately chosen exchange-correlation functional.

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Graphene has a close lattice match to the Ni(111) surface, resulting in a preference for 1 × 1 configurations. We have investigated graphene grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) on the nickel carbide (Ni(2)C) reconstruction of Ni(111) with scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). The presence of excess carbon, in the form of Ni(2)C, prevents graphene from adopting the preferred 1 × 1 configuration and leads to grain rotation. STM measurements show that residual Ni(2)C domains are present under rotated graphene. Nickel vacancy islands are observed at the periphery of rotated grains and indicate Ni(2)C dissolution after graphene growth. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations predict a very weak (van der Waals type) interaction of graphene with the underlying Ni(2)C, which should facilitate a phase separation of the carbide into metal-supported graphene. These results demonstrate that surface phases such as Ni(2)C can play a major role in the quality of epitaxial graphene.

CO adsorption on a PtCo(111) surface was studied by scanning tunneling microscopy. Comparison of images with chemical contrast of Pt and Co and images showing the CO molecules indicates that CO resides exclusively on top of Pt sites and never on Co. CO bonding is highly sensitive to the chemical environment. The probability to find CO on a Pt atom increases drastically with the number of its Co nearest neighbors. Ab initio calculations show that this ligand effect is due to different positions of the center of the Pt d band.

We have studied the surface of pure and oxidized Pt3Zr(0001) by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), Auger electron microscopy, and density functional theory (DFT). The well-annealed alloy surface shows perfect long-range chemical order. Occasional domain boundaries are probably caused by nonstoichiometry. Pt3Zr exhibits ABAC stacking along [0001]; only the A-terminated surfaces are seen by STM, in agreement with DFT results showing a lower surface energy for the A termination. DFT further predicts a stronger inward relaxation of the surface Zr than for Pt, in spite of the larger atomic size of Zr.A closed ZrO2 film is obtained by oxidation in 10 −7 mbar O2 at 400 • C and post-annealing at ≈ 800 • C. The oxide consists of an O-Zr-O trilayer, equivalent to a (111) trilayer of the fluorite structure of cubic ZrO2, but contracted laterally. The oxide forms a ( √ 19 × √ 19)R23 • superstructure. The first monolayer of the substrate consists of Pt and contracts, similar to the metastable reconstruction of pure Pt(111). DFT calculations show that the oxide trilayer binds rather weakly to the substrate. In spite of the O-terminated oxide, bonding to the substrate mainly occurs via the Zr atoms in the oxide, which strongly buckle down towards the Pt substrate atoms, if near a Pt position. According to DFT, the oxide has a bandgap; STM indicates that the conduction band minimum lies ≈ 2.3 eV above EF. PACS numbers: 68.55.A-, 68.35.bd, 68.37.Ef, 81.65.Mq