Study of Crystallization of H2O molecules on Well-defined Oxide Surfaces

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26600024
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Nanomaterials chemistry
• Research Institution: Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
• Principal Investigator: SASAHARA Akira 北陸先端科学技術大学院大学, マテリアルサイエンス研究科, 研究員 (40321905)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 固液界面 / 酸化物 / 二酸化チタン / 走査トンネル顕微鏡 / 水

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The aim of this study is to fabricate H2O crystals by using atomically well-defined oxide surfaces as atomic scale templates. By applying a high electric field to the template surfaces in water, H2O crystals with non-equilibrium structures may be obtained. It was found that the titanium dioxide (110)-(1×1) surface prepared in ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) maintained its atomic structure in laboratory air and water. The (1×1) surface is therefore a promising candidate for the template. When the (1×1) surfaces exposed to the humid environments were reintroduced to UHV, hydroxyl groups, hydroperoxyl groups, and O adatoms were present on the surfaces. These surface species were concluded to be formed by dissociation of H2O molecules coordinated to the (1×1) surface. The identification of the evacuation-induced species opens the door to the characterization of the (1×1) surfaces in aqueous solutions by surface-sensitive techniques in UHV.

Free Research Field

表面科学