Temperature dependent LEED study of Pb{1 1 1}

The thermal behavior of Pb{1 1 1} was studied using low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) in the temperature range 11–323 K. The surface interlayer spacings increase with temperature at about the same rate as the bulk up to 0.5 Tm, and then increase faster. The relaxation of the surface, which is larger than for other fcc {1 1 1} surfaces, is maintained in the temperature range studied. Although Pb has a larger expansion coefficient than other metals, the surface thermal expansion behavior is in line with other surfaces, and is consistent with harmonic interplanar potentials.