Unusual layer-by-layer growth of epitaxial oxide islands during Cu oxidation.

ABSTRACT: Elucidating metal oxide growth mechanisms is essential for precisely designing and fabricating nanostructured oxides with broad applications in energy and electronics. However, current epitaxial oxide growth methods are based on macroscopic empirical knowledge, lacking fundamental guidance at the nanoscale. Using correlated in situ environmental transmission electron microscopy, statistically-validated quantitative analysis, and density functional theory calculations, we show epitaxial Cu₂O nano-island growth on Cu is layer-by-layer along Cu₂O(110) planes, regardless of substrate orientation, contradicting classical models that predict multi-layer growth parallel to substrate surfaces. Growth kinetics show cubic relationships with time, indicating individual oxide mon

SUBMITTER: Li M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8119701 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature