Abstract
The interaction of oxygen with polycrystalline nickel surface has been studied by investigating the X-ray photoelectron spectra of O 1s, Ni $2p_{3/2}$, and their valence band electrons. By comparing the oxygen exposure of this work with the reported results of LEED, AES, and work function measurements, it is found that the atomic oxygen, adsorbed dissociatively in the initial stage of exposure, is responsible for a p(2 ${\times}$ 2) structure and a subsequent c(2 ${\times}$ 2) structure on the Ni(100) surface. This dissociatively adsorbed oxygen species forms surface NiO layer subsequently on further oxygen exposure. The NiO layer is more easily formed with the increasing temperature. Non-stoichiometric oxygen species is also found to accompany the NiO layer. It appears prior to the formation of bulk NiO at all of the temperatures of this work except at 523K.
