title: Giant enhancement of hydrogen transport in rutile TiO2 at low temperatures.
abstract: Measurements of the O-H and O-D vibrational lifetimes show that the room-temperature hydrogen diffusion rate in rutile TiO2 can be enhanced by 9 orders of magnitude when stimulated by resonant infrared light. We find that the local oscillatory motion of the proton quickly couples to a wag-mode-assisted classical transfer process along the c channel with a jump rate of greater than 1 THz and a barrier height of 0.2 eV. This increase in proton transport rate at moderate temperatures provides new insight into hydrogen transport in solids, which could play a role in applications ranging from fuel cells to hydrogen production.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Science, College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia 23187, USA.
authors.forename: E J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Spahr
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wen
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stavola
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Boatner
authors.forename: L C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Feldman
authors.forename: N H
authors.initials: NH
authors.lastname: Tolk
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lüpke