| AVS 57th International Symposium & Exhibition | |
| Surface Science | Wednesday Sessions |
| Session SS1-WeM |
| Session: | Oxide Surface Structure |
| Presenter: | M. Valtiner, Max-Planck-Institut fuer Eisenforschung, Germany |
| Authors: | M. Valtiner, Max-Planck-Institut fuer Eisenforschung, Germany M. Todorova, Max-Planck-Institut fuer Eisenforschung, Germany J. Neugebauer, Max-Planck-Institut fuer Eisenforschung, Germany |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
The (1 × 1) hydrogen reconstruction observed on Zn-terminated polar ZnO(0001) surfaces [1] is a prominent surface structure, which has so far defied any explanation attempts: none of the surface reconstructions observed in ab initio based equilibrium surface phase diagrams is consistent with the experimental observations [2]. Extending these equilibrium phase diagrams into the region of non-equilibrium conditions for the hydrogen chemical potential we show the occurrence of a new and so far not reported surface structure. The new structure consists of a (1 × 1) H covered triangular shaped reconstructions. It is stabilised and obeys electron counting, due to a simultaneous protonation of step-edge oxygen and surface terminating Zn atoms. It will be shown that the experimental conditions justify the consideration of hydrogen chemical potential outside the stability range of the H2 molecule [3].
[1] T. Becker et al., Surf. Sci. 486, L502 (2001).
[2] M. Valtiner et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 103, 065502 (2009).
[3] M. Valtiner et al., submitted (2010).