Oxygen chemisorption on Cu(110): A model for the c(6×2) structure

From an interplay between scanning tunneling microscopy, surface x-ray-diffraction experiments, and theoretical predictions, an unequivocal structural model for the Cu(110)-c(6×2)O surface reconstruction is derived with ten Cu atoms within the c(6×2) unit cell, two of which form a Cu superstructure. A general picture evolves in which the present as well as the Cu(110)-(2×1)O and the Cu(100)-(2 √2 × √2 )R45°O reconstructions are stabilized by Cu-O-Cu chains directed along the [001] direction. The nucleation and growth of the c(6×2) structure occur preferentially at steps