Growth of Copper on Single Crystalline ZnO: Surface Study of a Model Catalyst

Copper, vapor-deposited on the polar, Zn-terminated ZnO(0001) surface is investigated in view of its suitability as model system for the technologically important Cu/ZnO catalyst. The structure and electronic properties of Cu clusters on ZnO(0001)–Zn have been studied with scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), low energy electron diffraction (LEED), ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS), and low-energy He⁺ ion scattering (LEIS). At room temperature copper grows as two-dimensional (2D) clusters only at very low coverages of 0.001–0.05 equivalent monolayers (ML). At coverages greater than 0.01 ML, 3D clusters start to develop. This is contrasted to Cu growth on the oxygen-terminated ZnO(0001bar) surface, where a strong adhesion between Cu and the ZnO substrate results in an initial wetting of the surface by Cu. On ZnO(0001)–Zn, surface roughness and sputter damage change the growth mode to more 2D-like. Annealing in UHV results in well-separated, hexagonal clusters rotationally aligned with the substrate. Annealing of 2–5 ML Cu deposits on the ZnO(0001)–Zn surface in 10⁻⁶ mbar O₂ results in the formation of a (√3 × √3)R30° superstructure with respect to the ZnO lattice. This superstructure likely contains Cu⁺ sites. The suitability of the different surface morphologies to probe specific sites that are thought to be active for catalytic processes is discussed.