Reconstructions of Au films on Pd(110)

We present a study of thermally activated changes in Au films, 1--10 monolayers thick, on Pd(110). The films are stable against bulk dissolution until {~}500 K, based upon Auger electron spectroscopy. For Au coverages below 1.5 monolayers, only a (1×{}1) overlayer structure is observed with low-energy electron diffraction over the entire temperature range studied (130--800 K). At coverages above 1.0 monolayers and after annealing to temperatures above 300 K, a (1×{}z) diffraction pattern develops. With increasing coverage the value of z increases continuously from 2 to 3, reaching z=3 at 4 monolayers. We propose that the diffraction pattern reflects a coverage-dependent mixture of small domains of (1×{}2) and (1×{}3) reconstruction, with the (1×{}2) favored at low coverage and the (1×{}3) favored at high coverage. This model is rationalized in terms of the film's coverage-dependent morphology, which can be described as Stranski-Krastanov with a critical thickness of 2 monolayers.