Surface X-ray diffraction has been employed to quantitatively determine the geometric structure of an X-ray-induced superhydrophilic rutile-TiO2(110)(1 × 1) surface. A scatterer, assumed to be oxygen, is found at a distance of 1.90 ± 0.02 Å above the five-fold-coordinated surface Ti atom, indicating surface hydroxylation. Two more oxygen atoms, situated further from the substrate, are also included to achieve the optimal agreement between experimental and simulated diffraction data. It is concluded that these latter scatterers are from water molecules, surface-localized through hydrogen bonding. Comparing this interfacial structure with previous studies suggests that the superhydophilicity of titania is most likely to be a result of the depletion of surface carbon contamination coupled to extensive surface hydroxylation.
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