Investigation of the effects of high-energy proton-beam irradiation on metal-oxide surfaces by using methane adsorption isotherms

The creation of possible local defects on metal-oxide surfaces due to irradiation with a high-energy proton beam was investigated by using a series of gas adsorption isotherms for methane (CH4) on a MgO powder surface. After a MgO powder surface having only a (100) surface had been irradiated with a 35-MeV proton beam, the second atomic layer of methane had completely disappeared while two distinct atomic layers were found in a layer-by-layer fashion on the surfaces of unirradiated samples. This subtle modification of the surface is evidenced by a change of the contrasts in the morphologies measured a using a transmission electron microscopy. Combined results obtained from an electron microscopy and methane adsorption isotherms strongly suggest that the high-energy proton-beam irradiation induced a local surface modification by imparting kinetic energy to the sample. The calculation of the 2-dimensional compressibility values, which are responsible for the formation of the atomic layers, confirmed the surface modification after irradiating surface-clean MgO powders with a proton beam.