TY  - JOUR
AB  - Calcite is a mineral of fundamental importance that plays a crucial role in many fields of research such as biomineralization, biomolecule adsorption, and reactivity as well as industrial and daily life applications. Consequently, the most stable cleavage plane of calcite has been studied extensively using both direct imaging techniques such as atomic force microscopy as well as spectroscopic and diffraction techniques. Several surface structures have been reported for the (10 (1) over bar4) cleavage plane of calcite differing from the simple bulk-truncated structure and an ongoing controversy exists in literature whether the cleavage plane exhibits a (2 x 1) reconstruction or not. We study the (10 (1) over bar4) cleavage plane using high-resolution noncontact atomic force microscopy (NC-AFM) under ultrahigh vacuum conditions and obtain a clear signature of the (2 x) reconstruction. This reconstruction is observed M very narrow tip-surface distance ranges only, explaining why in some experiments the reconstruction has been observed and in others not. Moreover, as all sample preparation is performed in ultrahigh vacuum, the possibility of the (2 x 1) reconstruction being adsorbate-induced appears rather unlikely. Additionally, tip-induced surface changes are ruled out as origin for the observed reconstruction either. In conclusion, our study suggests that the (2 x 1) reconstruction is a true surface property of the (10 (1) over bar4) cleavage plane of calcite.
DA  - 2010
DO  - 10.1021/la904706p
LA  - eng
IS  - 11
M2  - 8295
PY  - 2010
SN  - 0743-7463
SP  - 8295-8300
T2  - Langmuir
TI  - Clear Signature of the (2 x 1) Reconstruction of Calcite (1014)
UR  - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:0070-pub-29138310
Y2  - 2024-11-22T03:26:07
ER  -