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Transient Mobility of Oxygen Adatoms upon O2 Dissociation on Reduced TiO2 (110)

Journal Article · · Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 112(7):2649-2653
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/jp077677u· OSTI ID:925468
Tracking the same region of the reduced TiO2 (110) surface by scanning tunneling microscopy before and after oxygen exposure at room temperature confirms that O2 molecules dissociate only at the bridging oxygen vacancies, with one O atom healing a vacancy and other O atom bonding at the neighboring Ti site as an adatom. Majority (~81%) of O adatoms are found separated from the original vacancy positions, by up to two lattice constants along [001] direction. Since at room temperature the thermal diffusion of O adatoms has been found to be rather small, with experimentally estimated activation energy of ~1.1 eV, we conclude that observed lateral distribution of the oxygen adatoms is attained through a nonthermal, transient mobility in the course of O2 dissociation. Unlike for other known cases of the dissociation of the diatomic molecules where both “hot” adatoms accommodate at the equivalent sites, in the studied system the oxygen atoms filling the vacancies are locked into the bridging oxygen rows and only the O adatoms are relatively free to move. The transient motion of the hyperthermal oxygen adatoms on the TiO2 (110) surface occurs exclusively along the Ti troughs.
Research Organization:
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (US), Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
AC05-76RL01830
OSTI ID:
925468
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA-57378; 19811; KC0301010
Journal Information:
Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 112(7):2649-2653, Journal Name: Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 112(7):2649-2653 Journal Issue: 7 Vol. 112
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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