Oxygen-etching of h-BN/Ru(0001) nanomesh on the nano- and mesoscopic scale

In English The stability of the recently discovered b-BN/Ru(0001) nanomesh is of crucial importance for potential applications as a nanotemplate. In particular, thermal stability in oxygen environment is important for nanocatalysis applications. We report here on the etching experiments of the h-BN layer by molecular oxygen exposure at elevated temperatures. This process is studied both by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) on a microscopic scale and with in situ low energy electron microscopy (LEEM) on the mesoscopic scale. Temperature thresholds are determined for the microscopic (600 degrees C) and the mesoscopic (750 degrees C) etching processes for O-2 pressures up to 1 x 10(-6) mbar. Submonolayer amounts of An deposited on the h-BN/Ru(0001) nanomesh improve considerably the stability of the h-BN nanomesh against etching by O-2.