@misc{SanchezBarquillaTschammerBussetal., author = {Sanchez-Barquilla, Raquel and Tschammer, Rudi and Buß, Lars and Morales, Carlos and Flege, Jan Ingo}, title = {The relation between substrate, Sm alloy, and surface sensitivity of ceria (111)- and (100)-oriented nano-islands on Ru(0001) and Cu(111)}, series = {Verhandlungen der DPG}, journal = {Verhandlungen der DPG}, publisher = {Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft}, address = {Bad Honnef}, issn = {0420-0195}, abstract = {Inverse oxide/metal catalysis allows achieving better catalytic performance than its traditional counterpart. For example, in cerium-based inverse catalyst systems, the Ce3+ states have been shown to be the active sites for methanol synthesis. This suggests that the activity can be enhanced by promoting those through alloying with trivalent, catalytically active rare-earth metals, as, e.g. Sm. We present low-energy and X-ray photoemission electron microscopy (LEEM/XPEEM), investigations that show how epitaxially grown (100)- and (111)-oriented CeO2 islands may be modified and/or alloyed by post-deposited metallic Sm. For the Ce1-xSmxO2-δ/Ru(0001) system, the CeO2 (111)-oriented islands undergo a structural change, concomitant with a partial conversion from Ce4+ to Ce3+. Surprisingly, for Ce1-xSmxO2-δ/Cu(111) the result is found to be face-dependent since only (100)-oriented CeOx islands were reduced whereas the (111)-oriented islands remained unaltered. Both systems have been exposed to reducing (H2) and oxidizing (CO2) conditions, resulting in higher reduction and in a complete recovery of the Ce4+ states, respectively. These unexpected results indicate a complex interaction not only between cerium and the doping element, but also an intricate interplay with the metallic substrate.}, language = {en} } @misc{GuttmannRiedelSanchezBarquillaetal., author = {Guttmann, Dominic and Riedel, Bj{\"o}rn and S{\´a}nchez-Barquilla, Raquel and Morales, Carlos and Flege, Jan Ingo}, title = {Oxide formation and oxide/metal interaction in CeOx/Ni(111)}, series = {Verhandlungen der DPG}, journal = {Verhandlungen der DPG}, publisher = {Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft}, address = {Bad Honnef}, issn = {0420-0195}, abstract = {Ni/ceria catalysts exhibit a high activity for methane to methanol conversion, making them very promising for applications within a sustainable economy. Possibly, their activity may be strongly enhanced due to the facile exchange between Ce4+ and Ce3+ states, with the latter likely responsible for activating O-H and C-H bonds. Here, we aim to unravel the complex metal-oxide interactions in the inverse CeOx/Ni(111) system under oxidizing and reducing environments. Using low-energy electron diffraction (LEED) we find that the CeOx(111) grown by reactive molecular beam epitaxy preferentially aligns with the main directions of the Ni(111) substrate or is azimuthally rotated by ±10°. By using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS), we find that less NiO is formed during deposition of CeOx than when it is held without ceria at the same conditions (O2 partial pressure and temperature). Finally, we observe a complex behavior of the cerium and nickel oxidation states when exposing the system to O2 or H2 atmospheres.}, language = {en} } @misc{SulaimanBussSanchezBarquillaetal., author = {Sulaiman, Cathy and Buß, Lars and S{\´a}nchez-Barquilla, Raquel and Falta, Jens and Flege, Jan Ingo}, title = {In-situ growth and characterization of 2D TaSe2 on Au(111)}, series = {Verhandlungen der DPG, Regensburg 2025}, journal = {Verhandlungen der DPG, Regensburg 2025}, publisher = {Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft}, address = {Bad Honnef}, abstract = {Group V dichalcogenides such as TaX2 (X = S, Se, T) have extensively been investigated in recent decades due to their diverse electron correlation effects, including the occurrence of charge density waves and Mott-Hubbard transitions. In 2D, two polytypes, 1T and 1H, exist, which exhibit distinct properties, making selective growth of each polytype crucial. Using low-energy electron microscopy (LEEM), we have successfully observed the growth of two TaSe2 phases on Au(111) in situ after the co-deposition of Ta and Se. At elevated temperature, micron-sized, triangle-shaped islands with bright contrast nucleate first and grow at a higher rate. However, this phase turns out to be meta-stable as it suddenly transitions into a more stable phase (with dark contrast) and continues to grow at a reduced rate. Low-energy electron diffraction shows the presence of TaSe2; bandstructure-sensitive I(V)-LEEM analysis reveals substantial differences in electron reflectivity between both phases. A comparison with TaS2 suggests that the metastable and stable phases are 1T- and 1H-TaSe2, respectively.}, language = {en} } @misc{BussSulaimanSanchezBarquillaetal., author = {Buß, Lars and Sulaiman, Cathy and S{\´a}nchez-Barquilla, Raquel and Cojocariu, Iulia and Szpytma, Marcin and Mente{\c{s}}, Tevfik Onur and Locatelli, Andrea and Falta, Jens and Flege, Jan Ingo}, title = {Rise and fall of 1T-TaS₂ : epitaxial growth of monolayer TaS₂ on Au(111)}, series = {Physical review materials}, volume = {9}, journal = {Physical review materials}, number = {7}, publisher = {American Physical Society (APS)}, address = {College Park, MD}, issn = {2475-9953}, doi = {10.1103/1bxg-yvw2}, pages = {1 -- 9}, abstract = {Monolayer tantalum disulfide epitaxially grown on Au(111) is studied in real time during molecular beam epitaxy using low-energy electron microscopy and microdiffraction. Complementary x-ray photoelectron emission microscopy provides insight into the chemical and electronic structure of the grown layers. Our study reveals a previously unreported growth mechanism where the formation of 2⁢H-TaS2 proceeds via a transient 1⁢T-TaS2 phase. The 1⁢T-TaS2 phase exhibits a significantly higher growth rate than the 2⁢H-TaS2 phase, with growth proceeding mainly in the 1T phase. By comparison with TaSe2 on Au(111), we find that this growth mechanism is common to other Ta-based transition-metal dichalcogenides on Au(111). Furthermore, we find spectroscopic evidence for the presence of charge-density-wave order in 1⁢T-TaS2 on Au(111). These findings provide perspectives on the growth dynamics and phase control of TaS2, opening up avenues for tailoring its electronic properties through substrate interaction and phase engineering.}, language = {en} }