As discussed in the previous sections, we assign the appearance of characteristic signals to the formation of -Hf(NMe2)x nuclei on the surface upon exposure to TDMAH. Notably, we also observe the formation of OH groups ((OH) at 3676 cm -1 ) during the formation of these nuclei. This is completely unexpected, as one would rather expect a reaction of TDMAH with defect OH that leads to the consumption and not to formation of OH species. Note that the consumption of OH species would result in a positive (OH) signal (observed only at a later stage of the experiment near saturation). In contrast to the nucleation experiment on CoO(100), we do not observe any shifts of the characteristic signals of the -NMe 2 ligands. This observation suggests that no -NMe2 ligands are adsorbed on the CoO(111) surface. Instead, several new signals appear, the most prominent ones at 2188 and around 1600 cm -1 .