We present experimental results and theoretical simulations of the adsorption behavior of the metal-organic precursor Co2(CO)8 on SiO2 surfaces after application of two different pre-treatment steps, namely by air plasma cleaning or a focused electron beam pre-irradiation. We observe a spontaneous dissociation of the precursor molecules as well as auto-deposition of cobalt on the pre-treated SiO2 surfaces. We also find that the differences in metal content and relative stability of these deposits depend on the pre-treatment conditions of the substrate. Transport measurements of these deposits are also presented. We are led to assume that the degree of passivation of the SiO2 surface by hydroxyl groups is an important controlling factor in the dissociation process. Our calculations of various slab settings using dispersion corrected density functional theory support this assumption. We observe physisorption of the precursor molecule on a fully hydroxylated SiO2 surface (untreated surface) and chemisorption on a partially hydroxylated SiO2 surface (pre-treated surface) with a spontaneous dissociation of the precursor molecule. In view of these calculations, we discuss the origin of this dissociation and the subsequent autocatalysis.
Within the framework of density functional theory we investigate the nature of magnetism in various families of Fe-based superconductors. (i) We show that magnetization of stripe-type antiferromagnetic order always becomes stronger when As is substituted by Sb in LaOFeAs, BaFe$_2$As$_2$ and LiFeAs. By calculating Pauli susceptibilities, we attribute the magnetization increase obtained after replacing As by Sb to the enhancement of an instability at $(pi,pi)$. This points to a strong connection between Fermi surface nesting and magnetism, which supports the theory of the itinerant nature of magnetism in various families of Fe-based superconductors. (ii) We find that within the family LaOFe$Pn$ ($Pn$=P, As, Sb, Bi) the absence of an antiferromagnetic phase in LaOFeP and its presence in LaOFeAs can be attributed to the competition of instabilities in the Pauli susceptibility at $(pi,pi)$ and $(0,0)$, which further strengthens the close relation between Fermi surface nesting and experimentally observed magnetization. (iii) Finally, based on our relaxed structures and Pauli susceptibility results, we predict that LaOFeSb upon doping or application of pressure should be a candidate for a superconductor with the highest transition temperature among the hypothetical compounds LaOFeSb, LaOFeBi, ScOFeP and ScOFeAs while the parent compounds LaOFeSb and LaOFeBi should show at ambient pressure a stripe-type antiferromagnetic metallic state.
