Mechanical Properties of Oxygen Multilayers on Graphite

Abstract

We have used a high-resolution, high-stability, graphite-fiber oscillator to measure properties of oxygen films adsorbed on graphite. We show that the bulk triple temperature is the wetting temperature. The observation of a transition from solid to liquid in the saturated film at a well-defined temperature below the bulk triple temperature is in accord with the prediction of a Potts lattice-gas model of adsorbed systems.