An STM–XPS study of ammonia oxidation: the molecular architecture of chemisorbed imide ‘strings’ at Cu(110) surfaces

The structural characteristics of imide strings formed when a Cu(110) surface is exposed to an ammonia rich NH3–O2 mixture at 325 K have been determined by STM. The spacing of the NH units within a string is 5 Å and at complete coverage the strings are separated by 7.2 Å.