Direct observations of the deuterium-induced surface reconstruction of the Ni(110) plane

The reconstruction of the Ni(110) plane induced by the adsorption of deuterium has been investigated in atomic detail with the field ion microscope. Small clusters of Ni atoms were observed to rearrange from a bulk-terminated structure to a ‘‘missing-row’’ structure upon exposure to ${10}^{\mathrm{-}8}$-Torr deuterium at 165–175 K. The observed structure is inconsistent with the ‘‘paired-row’’ structure deduced from low-energy electron diffraction and ion-scattering measurements.