Electronic Structure Change on T1O2 Surface clue to UV Light Irradiation

摘要

An apparent local surface structural change at nanoscale was observed by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) on a TiO_2(110) surface upon irradiation of ultra-violet (UV) light. The phenomenon was reversible with UV light irradiation, and was interpreted to be due to the local accumulation of photoexcited states. This is the first real-space observation of inhomogeneous local excited state distribution under UV light irradiation at nanoscale on a semiconductive photocatalyst surface, which may help identify the photocatalytic active sites and elucidating the reaction mechanisms over them.