In this talk, we describe the evidence for, and importance of, small complexes of sulfur and silver on silver surfaces in controlling mass transport of silver across the surface. Using the tools of scanning tunneling microscopy and density functional theory, we have characterized the role of Ag3S3 and AgS2 on surfaces of Ag(111) and Ag(100), and we have shown how these two surfaces differ in terms of the stabilities and mobilities of these clusters. Recently, we have discovered larger chain-like clusters on Ag(111), built out of Ag16S13 monomers. We discuss the role of some of these clusters in destabilizing Ag nanoislands, i.e. their role in accelerating the process known as coarsening by which large islands grow at the expense of small islands. We present a model to explain our observation that coarsening is far slower on Ag(100) than on Ag(111) when the silver-sulfur complexes are present.

Mobile Ag-S clusters on Ag surfaces: Agents of mass transport

245th National Meeting (2013)

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