title: Role of steps in the dissociative adsorption of water on rutile TiO2(110).
abstract: The water-TiO(2) interaction is of paramount importance for many processes occurring on TiO(2), and the rutile TiO(2)(110)-(1×1) surface has often been considered as a test case. Yet, no consensus has been reached whether the well-studied surface O vacancies on the terraces are the only active sites for water dissociation on rutile TiO(2)(110)-(1 × 1), or whether another channel for the creation of H adatoms exists. Here we use high-resolution scanning tunneling microscopy and density functional theory calculations to tackle this long-standing question. Evidence is presented that a second water dissociation channel exists on the surfaces of vacuum-annealed TiO(2)(110) crystals that is associated with the ⟨111⟩ step edges. This second water dissociation channel can be suppressed by blocking of the ⟨111⟩ step edges using ethanol.
authors.affiliation: Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO), Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.
authors.forename: H H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Kristoffersen
authors.affiliation: Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO), Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.
authors.forename: J O
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Hansen
authors.affiliation: Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO), Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Martinez
authors.affiliation: Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO), Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.
authors.forename: Y Y
authors.initials: YY
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO), Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Matthiesen
authors.affiliation: Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO), Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Streber
authors.affiliation: Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO), Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bechstein
authors.affiliation: Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO), Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lægsgaard
authors.affiliation: Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO), Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Besenbacher
authors.affiliation: Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO), Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hammer
authors.affiliation: Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO), Department of Physics and Astronomy, Aarhus University, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wendt