Adsorbate-induced disorder-to-order surface reconstruction: iodine on Pd(111) revisited by EC-STM

Earlier work, based upon ex situ surface analytical measurements, found that a disordered Pd(111) surface can be spontaneously reordered upon exposure, at ambient conditions, to a dilute aqueous solution of iodide. This phenomenon has been re-examined by in situ atom-resolved scanning tunneling microscopy. The results from the present study, while corroborating the chemisorption-induced disorder-to-order surface reconstruction observed earlier, indicate that the kinetics of the structural rearrangements may not be as rapid as initially thought.