title: State-selective dissociation of a single water molecule on an ultrathin MgO film.
abstract: The interaction of water with oxide surfaces has drawn considerable interest, owing to its application to problems in diverse scientific fields. Atomic-scale insights into water molecules on the oxide surface have long been recognized as essential for a fundamental understanding of the molecular processes occurring there. Here, we report the dissociation of a single water molecule on an ultrathin MgO film using low-temperature scanning tunnelling microscopy. Two types of dissociation pathway--vibrational excitation and electronic excitation--are selectively achieved by means of injecting tunnelling electrons at the single-molecule level, resulting in different dissociated products according to the reaction paths. Our results reveal the advantage of using a MgO film, rather than bulk MgO, as a substrate in chemical reactions.
authors.affiliation: Surface Chemistry Laboratory, RIKEN, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan.
authors.forename: Hyung-Joon
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Jaehoon
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: Kenta
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Motobayashi
authors.forename: Susumu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yanagisawa
authors.forename: Yoshitada
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Morikawa
authors.forename: Yousoo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Maki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kawai
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