Preparation, characterisation and structure of Ti and Al ultrathin oxide films on metals

The growth of ultrathin oxide films on metal substrates offers a solution to many of the experimental difficulties inherent to the studies of surfaces of bulk oxides and provides new interesting materials with unprecedented structures and properties. In this article we review the preparation and characterisation of ultrathin titanium oxide (TiOx) and aluminium oxide (AlOx) films grown on metal and metal alloy surfaces, emphasising those results that highlight new concepts and insights into metal oxide surface physics and chemistry. Different methods of preparation and characterisation are discussed and the resulting chemical compositions and surface structures are described by taking into account the results provided by computational approaches, and putting emphasis in outlining the structural novelty of interface-stabilised versus bulk-like phases and on the importance of kinetic effects in orienting the growth.