Rare gases physisorbed on Pt(1 1 1): a low-temperature STM investigation

The structure and the phase transitions of Xe, Kr and Ar physisorbed on Pt(111) in the submonolayer-coverage range has been explored by low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy. The hexagonal incommensurate rotated (HIR) → hexagonal incommensurate (HI) transition with decreasing Xe coverage has been observed unambiguously. The onset of adlayer rotation occurs for Xe islands larger than 700 Å2. Xe dimers physisorbed on Pt(111) are commensurately ordered on the Pt(111) surface. The experimental results are compared to molecular dynamic simulations.