A. Goriachko

Modern Nanotemplates Based on Graphene and Single Layer h-BN

Abstract This mini-review focuses on the recently discovered nanomeshes and nanotemplates made from carbon, boron nitride and their mixtures with a thickness of just a single atomic layer. Typically they exist on some transition metal or semiconductor substrate, the interaction with it playing a crucial role in nanopattern formation. We review systems such as graphene/SiC(0001), graphene/Ru(0001), h-BN/Ru(0001), and h-BN/Rh(111), their atomistic models, synthesis routes, as well as possible applications as templates for nanoperiodic arrays of clusters and molecules. Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), a technique with ultimate resolution in real space, is stressed as an indispensable tool for a comprehensive characterization of the given systems.

The Nanostructuring of Atomically Flat Ru(0001) upon Oxidation and Reduction

The O/Ru(0001) system is widely studied due to its rich phase variety of various stoichiometry and atomic arrangements, including the formation of a RuO2/Ru(0001) oxide layer. Apart from homogeneous ruthenium surfaces in certain oxidation states, also strongly heterogeneous surfaces can exist due to oxidation state’s variation at the nanoscale. We report on a scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) study of the nanostructuring of the oxidized Ru(0001) surface as a result of its interaction with molecular oxygen at elevated temperatures and subsequent reduction of a resulting RuO2 film by CO or HCl molecules from the gas phase in high-vacuum environment.