Real-time X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy study of dissociative oxygen adsorption on Rh(110)

The dissociative oxygen adsorption on a Rh(110) surface has been studied by monitoring the changes in the O 1s spectra during oxygen exposure at 270 and 570 K. The site-sensitive O 1s binding energy was used as a fingerprint of the adatom adsorption geometry and the O 1s intensity as a measure of the oxygen coverage. The short data collection time allowed us to follow the conversion between different oxygen bonding configurations and to correlate it to the observed coverage and structural changes. Comparison between unreconstructive (270 K) and reconstructive (570 K) oxygen adsorption was made and discussed.