Melting of Submonolayer Krypton Films on Graphite

Abstract

We present the results of a detailed x-ray scattering study of submonolayer krypton films physisorbed onto basal-plane surfaces of exfoliated $\mathrm{ZYX}$ graphite. Results illustrate that x-ray scattering may provide precise structural information about the solid and liquid phases of adsorbed films. For near-monolayer coverages, melting of the commensurate kypton solid appears to be a second-order transition with a critical exponent $\ensuremath{\beta}$ consistent with a Potts lattice-gas model of the melting process.