ABSTRACT
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363
of advanced materials with controlled and tunable properties. In particular, thin and ultrathin oxide lms supported on metallic substrates are of current interest due to their potential use as protective lms, insulating layers in integrated circuits, elements of nanodevices, and supports for metal nanoparticles in sensors and catalysis (Chen and Goodman 2008; Freund and Pacchioni 2008; Freund 2010; Pacchioni and Valeri 2012; Shaikhutdinov and Freund 2012). In addition, they provide a convenient solution for charging problems that severely hamper the study surface properties of highly insulating oxides by means of surface science techniques that involve electrically charged probes (Diebold et al. 2010; Nilius et al. 2011; Shaikhutdinov and Freund 2012).
