Plasmonics of Ag, Au, and Zn nanoparticles supported on Al 2 O 3 (0001), TiO 2 (110), and ZnO(0001) substrates has been probed by surface differential reflectivity spectroscopy (SDRS) during vapor deposition growth. Parallel and perpendicular interfacial susceptibilities (ISs), or "optical thicknesses", which characterize only the dielectric response of the film, are derived from experimental spectra in p-and spolarization using an inversion procedure based on Kramers−Kronig transform. The consistency of the approach is checked against sum rules. Plasmonic contributions are unraveled by decomposing ISs into damped oscillators and identified with the help of dielectric simulations of truncated supported spheres or spheroids. Beyond the common Drude behavior of Ag, Au, and Zn, the comparison between the three metals demonstrates the paramount role of interband transitions in the ISs profiles. While gold and silver show free electron plasmon modes, zinc exhibits polarization modes of bound electrons. However, despite those differences, the resonant modes that are identified herein are universal for supported particles. Particle shape, equilibrium aspect ratio, image field, polydispersity, and interface-induced damping are discussed by analyzing changes in frequencies, oscillator strengths, and broadenings. Deposit-induced band gap absorption for semiconductor substrate and switches from growth to coalescence regimes are evidenced. Static and dynamic coalescence are characterized by power law exponents as a function of particle size. Therefore, the unique framework that is proposed opens strong prospects in the optical characterization of growth, metal/ semiconductor interfaces, and gas adsorption.

Adhesion at zinc/alumina interface is a key issue in the field of steelmaking industry, where selective Al oxidation, followed by surface segregation of alumina islands, efficiently impedes wetting of anticorrosive Zn coating on the high strength steel grades. Relying on ab initio total energy calculations, we have examined adsorption of Zn adatoms on different terminations of α-Al2O3(0001) surface under both vacuum conditions and in the presence of surface hydroxyls. Surface configurations with strongly bound Zn and thermodynamic conditions necessary for their stability have been identified. We have shown the existence of a wide range of nonextreme oxygen-rich conditions under which Zn tends to spill over the alumina substrate as an array of strongly adsorbed adatoms, rather than to form metallic clusters weakly bound to the substrate. This effect has been assigned to surface non-neutrality, such as due to surface polarity, or to an excess of surface hydroxyls. Moreover, compared to its direct neighbors in the periodic table (Cu, Ag), we have shown that surface structures with strongly bound adatoms can be stabilized already in much more oxygen-poor conditions.