Publication detail

Apparatus for dosing liquid water in ultrahigh vacuum

BALAJKA, J. PAVELEC, J. KOMORA, M. SCHMID, M. DIEBOLD, U.

Original Title

Apparatus for dosing liquid water in ultrahigh vacuum

Type

journal article in Web of Science

Language

English

Original Abstract

The structure of the solid-liquid interface often defines the function and performance of materials in applications. To study this interface at the atomic scale, we extended an ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) surface-science chamber with an apparatus that allows bringing a surface in contact with ultrapure liquid water without exposure to air. In this process, a sample, typically a single crystal prepared and characterized in UHV, is transferred into a separate, small chamber. This chamber already contains a volume of ultrapure water ice. The ice is at cryogenic temperature, which reduces its vapor pressure to the UHV range. Upon warming, the ice melts and forms a liquid droplet, which is deposited on the sample. In test experiments, a rutile TiO2(110) single crystal exposed to liquid water showed unprecedented surface purity, as established by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy. These results enabled us to separate the effect of pure water from the effect of low-level impurities present in the air. Other possible uses of the setup are discussed. (C) 2018 Author(s).

Keywords

Vacuum apparatus; Mechanical instruments; Scanning tunneling microscopy; Surface science

Authors

BALAJKA, J.; PAVELEC, J.; KOMORA, M.; SCHMID, M.; DIEBOLD, U.

Released

30. 8. 2018

Publisher

AIP Publishing

Location

MELVILLE

ISBN

1089-7623

Periodical

REVIEW OF SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS

Year of study

89

Number

8

State

United States of America

Pages from

1

Pages to

6

Pages count

6

URL

Full text in the Digital Library

BibTex

@article{BUT169880,
  author="Jan {Balajka} and Jiří {Pavelec} and Mojmír {Komora} and Michael {Schmid} and Ulrike {Diebold}",
  title="Apparatus for dosing liquid water in ultrahigh vacuum",
  journal="REVIEW OF SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS",
  year="2018",
  volume="89",
  number="8",
  pages="1--6",
  doi="10.1063/1.5046846",
  issn="1089-7623",
  url="https://aip.scitation.org/doi/10.1063/1.5046846"
}