Crystalline Ice Growth on Pt(111): Observation of a Hydrophobic Water Monolayer

The growth of crystalline water films on Pt(111) is investigated using rare gas physisorption. The water monolayer wets Pt(111) at all temperatures investigated (20–155 K). At low temperatures (T≤120  K), additional water layers kinetically wet the monolayer surface. However, crystalline ice films grown at higher temperatures (T>135  K) do not wet the water monolayer. These results are consistent with recent theory and experiments suggesting that the molecules in the water monolayer form a surface with no dangling OH bonds or lone pair electrons, giving rise to a hydrophobic water monolayer on Pt(111).