Publication detail

Apparatus for dosing liquid water in ultrahigh vacuum

BALAJKA, J. PAVELEC, J. KOMORA, M. SCHMID, M. DIEBOLD, U.

English title

Apparatus for dosing liquid water in ultrahigh vacuum

Type

journal article in Web of Science

Language

en

Original abstract

The structure of the solid-liquid interface often defines the function and performance of materials in applications. To study this interface at the atomic scale, we extended an ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) surface-science chamber with an apparatus that allows bringing a surface in contact with ultrapure liquid water without exposure to air. In this process, a sample, typically a single crystal prepared and characterized in UHV, is transferred into a separate, small chamber. This chamber already contains a volume of ultrapure water ice. The ice is at cryogenic temperature, which reduces its vapor pressure to the UHV range. Upon warming, the ice melts and forms a liquid droplet, which is deposited on the sample. In test experiments, a rutile TiO2(110) single crystal exposed to liquid water showed unprecedented surface purity, as established by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy. These results enabled us to separate the effect of pure water from the effect of low-level impurities present in the air. Other possible uses of the setup are discussed. (C) 2018 Author(s).

English abstract

The structure of the solid-liquid interface often defines the function and performance of materials in applications. To study this interface at the atomic scale, we extended an ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) surface-science chamber with an apparatus that allows bringing a surface in contact with ultrapure liquid water without exposure to air. In this process, a sample, typically a single crystal prepared and characterized in UHV, is transferred into a separate, small chamber. This chamber already contains a volume of ultrapure water ice. The ice is at cryogenic temperature, which reduces its vapor pressure to the UHV range. Upon warming, the ice melts and forms a liquid droplet, which is deposited on the sample. In test experiments, a rutile TiO2(110) single crystal exposed to liquid water showed unprecedented surface purity, as established by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy. These results enabled us to separate the effect of pure water from the effect of low-level impurities present in the air. Other possible uses of the setup are discussed. (C) 2018 Author(s).

Keywords in English

Vacuum apparatus; Mechanical instruments; Scanning tunneling microscopy; Surface science

Released

30.08.2018

Publisher

AIP Publishing

Location

MELVILLE

ISSN

1089-7623

Volume

89

Number

8

Pages from–to

1–6

Pages count

6

BIBTEX


@article{BUT169880,
  author="Jan {Balajka} and Jiří {Pavelec} and Mojmír {Komora} and Michael {Schmid} and Ulrike {Diebold},
  title="Apparatus for dosing liquid water in ultrahigh vacuum",
  year="2018",
  volume="89",
  number="8",
  month="August",
  pages="1--6",
  publisher="AIP Publishing",
  address="MELVILLE",
  issn="1089-7623"
}