title: Experimental observation of quantum oscillation of surface chemical reactivities.
abstract: Here we present direct observation of a quantum reactivity with respect to the amounts of O(2) adsorbed and the rates of surface oxidation as a function of film thickness on ultrathin (2-6 nm) Pb mesas by scanning tunneling microscopy. Simultaneous spectroscopic measurements on the electronic structures reveal a quantum oscillation that originates from quantum well states of the mesas, as a generalization of the Fabry-Pérot modes of confined electron waves. We expect the quantum reactivity to be a general phenomenon for most ultrathin metal films with broad implications, such as nanostructure tuning of surface reactivities and rational design of heterogeneous catalysts.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100080, China.
authors.forename: Xucun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Yun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Qi
authors.forename: Jinfeng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Wenhui
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Duan
authors.forename: Wei-Xue
authors.initials: WX
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Xinhe
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Bao
authors.forename: S B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Qi-Kun
authors.initials: QK
authors.lastname: Xue