nl5b03277_si_005.avi (1.96 MB)
Real-Time Observation of Reconstruction Dynamics on TiO2(001) Surface under Oxygen via an Environmental Transmission Electron Microscope
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posted on 2016-01-13, 00:00 authored by Wentao Yuan, Yong Wang, Hengbo Li, Hanglong Wu, Ze Zhang, Annabella Selloni, Chenghua SunThe surface atomic structure has
a remarkable impact on the physical and chemical properties of metal
oxides and has been studied extensively by scanning tunneling microscopy.
However, acquiring real-time information on the formation and evolution
of the surface structure remains a great challenge. Here we use environmental
transmission electron microscopy to directly observe the stress-induced
reconstruction dynamics on the (001) surface of anatase TiO2. Our in situ results unravel for the first time how the (1 ×
4) reconstruction forms and how the metastable (1 × 3) and (1
× 5) patterns transform into the (1 × 4) surface stable
structure. With the support of first-principles calculations, we find
that the surface evolution is driven by both low coordinated atoms
and surface stress. This work provides a complete picture of the structural
evolution of TiO2(001) under oxygen atmosphere and paves
the way for future studies of the reconstruction dynamics of other
solid surfaces.