Oxygen activation on oxide surfaces: A perspective at the atomic level

Thin oxide films have been used as model supports to unravel the influence of the oxide–metal and oxide–gas interface. We discuss the influence of defects in the oxide lattice and the oxide surface on properties of adsorbed species, in particular the formation of oxide particles from a deposited transition metal onto ceria and of adsorbed oxygen from the gas phase. Here we correlate the structure of the particles, as revealed by a combination of STM and spectroscopic as well as theoretical calculations, with