Theoretical description of the adsorption of transition metal ions on metal surfaces with the formation of submonolayer ferromagnetic films

The influence of the temperature and ferromagnetic ordering on the adsorption of Fe, Co, and Ni transition metal ions on a copper paramagnetic substrate with the formation of a submonolayer film is described in terms of the spin-density functional theory for the first time. The conditions for the formation of magnetic monoatomic films stable with respect to island adsorption with a change in the coverage parameter Θ are revealed. Four model cases of the electron density distribution as a function of the equilibrium distance between the film and the substrate and the equilibrium thickness of the adsorption layer are considered. It is demonstrated that the inclusion of the ferromagnetic ordering substantially affects the adsorption energy and leads to its considerable increase.