title: Silicon Reactivity at the Ag(111) Surface.
abstract: The modelization of silicene on Ag(111) is generally based on the assumption of a complete immiscibility between silicon and silver. However, there are recent reports that growth occurs inside the first layer of the Ag(111) terraces rather than on top of them. Here, we report on a combined density functional theory and scanning tunneling microscopy study unveiling the basic exchange mechanism between Si and the topmost layer Ag atoms and modeling the nucleation process. Our findings demonstrate that a strong Si-Ag interaction must be considered to properly describe the Si/Ag(111) interface.
authors.affiliation: CNR-Istituto per lo Studio dei Materiali Nanostrutturati, Dipartimento di Chimica, Università di Roma "La Sapienza", P.le Aldo Moro 5, I-00185, Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: Mauro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Satta
authors.affiliation: CNR-Istituto di Struttura della Materia, Via Fosso del Cavaliere 100, I-00133 Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Colonna
authors.affiliation: CNR-Istituto di Struttura della Materia, Via Fosso del Cavaliere 100, I-00133 Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Flammini
authors.affiliation: CNR-Istituto di Struttura della Materia, Via Fosso del Cavaliere 100, I-00133 Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cricenti
authors.affiliation: CNR-Istituto di Struttura della Materia, Via Fosso del Cavaliere 100, I-00133 Roma, Italy.
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ronci