Evidence for a Relationship between the Anisotropy of Surface Energy and Surface Reconstruction: Comparison of Pt(110) and Cu(110)

The amplitude decay of surface profiles in [1{}10] and [001] directions on (110) surfaces of Pt and Cu was compared and found to be purely exponential except for the Pt(100) [001] case. The latter is also the direction of the (1×{}2) reconstruction typical for clean Pt(110). The nonexponential decay rate observed for Pt(110) [001] was theoretically duplicated by incorporation of a large anisotropy in the surface energy of about 10% into the decay kinetics. Thus, a common cause for the (1×{}2) reconstruction and the nonexponential profile decay along the [001] azimuth may be the large anisotropy in the surface energy of Pt.