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Photo-Induced Morphology Changes at the RuO2(110)/TiO2(110) Surface: A Scanning Tunneling Microscopy Study

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Abstract

Illumination by ultraviolet light and subsequent annealing to 600–700 K lead to characteristic morphological changes of a fully covering four to five monolayer thick RuO2(110) film on TiO2(110) and even to a decomposition of RuO2(110) islands on TiO2(110). These photo-induced degradation processes in a water atmosphere of 10−6 mbar and without water were studied with scanning tunneling microscopy and supplemented by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The photo-assisted process is considered to be mediated by the underlying semiconducting TiO2(110) substrate through photo-generated hot electron–hole pairs. Due to energy band bending formed at the RuO2(110)/TiO2(110) heterojunction (Schottky barrier) the holes are selectively drawn towards the interface, where these can conduct oxidation reactions leading to modifications of the RuO2(110) surface and to the observed morphological degradation in the subsequent annealing step to 600 or 700 K.

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Acknowledgements

The DFG is acknowledged for terminating the the financial support through priority program SPP1613.

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  1. Physikalisch-Chemisches Institut, Justus-Liebig-University, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 17, 35392, Giessen, Germany

    Benjamin Herd, Marcel Abb & Herbert Over

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  1. Benjamin Herd
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  2. Marcel Abb
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  3. Herbert Over
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Correspondence to Herbert Over.

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Herd, B., Abb, M. & Over, H. Photo-Induced Morphology Changes at the RuO2(110)/TiO2(110) Surface: A Scanning Tunneling Microscopy Study. Top Catal 60, 533–541 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11244-016-0711-y

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