Different-dimensional structures of antimony formed selectively on graphite

Abstract

When antimony (mostly Sb4) is deposited on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG), in situ scanning tunneling microscopy images reveal that three-dimensional (3D) spherical islands, quasi-2D films and 1D nanowires (NWs) are formed. The spherical islands develop into faceted crystallites in the later growth stage. The lattice parameters of the 2D and 3D structures are close to those of α-Sb bulk, whereas the NWs appear in a compressed state. The Laplace pressure, which can reach the GPa range in a nanostructure, is considered the driving force for the compressive lattice structures of Sb NWs. We found conditions of controlling the dimensionality of Sb nanostructures in their self-assembly on HOPG to a certain extent. At room temperature and with a low Sb flux, 3D islands grow exclusively. At a substrate temperature of 100 °C, 2D and 1D structures are dominant when a high deposition flux is used, whereas only NWs are formed initially when a low flux is used. These results are explained in terms of different activation energies for Sb4 diffusion and conversion to a chemisorption or dissociation state on HOPG. As the temperature increases, the rate of conversion to the chemisorption or dissociation state increases more rapidly than that of diffusion since the chemisorption activation energy is much higher than the diffusion barrier of physisorbed Sb4, resulting in enhanced 2D and 1D structural nucleation and growth, which are further favored with the increase in deposition flux. The bonding nature of various Sb structures with a graphite surface and the conditions for growing aligned Sb NWs exclusively are discussed. © Springer-Verlag 2007.