title: Adsorbate induced restructuring of TiO2(011)-(2×1) leads to one-dimensional nanocluster formation.
abstract: Metal oxide surfaces have been thought to be fairly rigid. On the example of rutile TiO2(011) we show that this is not necessarily the case. This surface restructures by interacting with molecules. The synergic effect of adsorbates causes a strictly directional reorganization of the substrate, which results in one-dimensional adsorbate cluster formation. The increase in the surface energy of the restructured surface is compensated for by the larger molecular adsorption energy. The reversible change of the surface structure suggests a dynamic surface that may change its properties in response to adsorbed molecules.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, Centre for Computational Chemistry and Research Institute of Industrial Catalysis, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai 200237, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Cuan
authors.forename: Junguang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tao
authors.forename: Xue-Qing
authors.initials: XQ
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Batzill