O(110) surface*

Photocatalytic reactions on the surface of cuprous oxide (Cu₂O) depend on the atomic scale structure of the Cu₂O surfaces with respect to surface terminations, reconstructions, and defects. Building on previous work on the Cu₂O(111) surface [1,2], we perform high-resolution ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) on the (110) surface of bulk crystal Cu₂O. The Cu₂O(110) surface reveals multiple surface terminations, aggregation of defects and periodic distortions of the atomic rows on the stoichiometric surface termination. Surface assignments have been made by correlating STM images with density functional theory (DFT) calculations combined with STM simulations using the Ingrained tool [3].

 

[1] R. Zhang et al., Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 20, 27456 (2018)

[2] L. Li et al., Chem. Mater. 30, 1912 (2018)

[3] E. Schwenker et al., Small 18, 2102960 (2022)