Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
Abstract The motion of surface species within a dense layer of coadsorbates, a common case in real-world interface systems, relies on structural flexibility of the coadsorbate phase. Here, we study by video-rate scanning tunneling microscopy the lateral deformability of the pseudo-hexagonal c (2 22) R45^ c (2 × 2 2) R 4 5 ∘ -Br adlayer on Au (100). It is shown that the structural anisotropy of this adlayer phase allows strongly dynamic, uniaxial distortions via antiphase shifting of Br adsorbate rows along the 010 direction. The observed structural flexibility can be explained by rapid one-dimensional diffusion of fractional vacancies in the Br adlayer. This is supported by density functional theory calculations, which find low diffusion barriers for this process, and allows the adlayer adapting in a highly dynamic way to embedded surface species.
Yang et al. (Sat,) studied this question.