Structure of a Silica Thin Film on Oxidized Cu(111): Conservation of the Honeycomb Lattice and Role of the Interlayer

Abstract

The metal-oxide interface has a crucial role in determining the growth of silica thin films. However, only a few metallic substrates have been explored so far. In previous studies, metal substrates exhibiting unreconstructed surfaces under oxygen exposure have been analyzed. In this work, we study the structure of a silica thin film grown on Cu(111) and propose that a copper oxide film formed at the interface inhibits the appearance of defects and domain boundaries. Our results suggest that the silica film structure has flexible connections with the copper oxide interlayer leading to a lattice solely composed of six-membered rings. This honeycomb configuration is certainly of importance in the design of well-defined two-dimensional oxide thin films on metallic substrates and for catalysis applications involving metal-oxide interfaces.