Engineering surface dipoles on mixed conducting oxides with ultra-thin oxide decoration layers

Publikationen: Beitrag in FachzeitschriftArtikelForschung(peer-reviewed)

Autoren

  • Matthäus Siebenhofer
  • Andreas Nenning
  • Peter Blaha
  • Jürgen Fleig
  • Markus Kubicek

Externe Organisationseinheiten

  • Technische Universität Wien
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Abstract

Improving materials for energy conversion and storage devices is deeply connected with an optimization of their surfaces and surface modification is a promising strategy on the way to enhance modern energy technologies. This study shows that surface modification with ultra-thin oxide layers allows for a systematic tailoring of the surface dipole and the work function of mixed ionic and electronic conducting oxides, and it introduces the ionic potential of surface cations as a readily accessible descriptor for these effects. The combination of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and density functional theory (DFT) illustrates that basic oxides with a lower ionic potential than the host material induce a positive surface charge and reduce the work function of the host material and vice versa. As a proof of concept that this strategy is widely applicable to tailor surface properties, we examined the effect of ultra-thin decoration layers on the oxygen exchange kinetics of pristine mixed conducting oxide thin films in very clean conditions by means of in-situ impedance spectroscopy during pulsed laser deposition (i-PLD). The study shows that basic decorations with a reduced surface work function lead to a substantial acceleration of the oxygen exchange on the surfaces of diverse materials.

Details

OriginalspracheEnglisch
Aufsatznummer1730
Seitenumfang10
FachzeitschriftNature Communications
Jahrgang15.2024
Ausgabenummer1
DOIs
StatusVeröffentlicht - Feb. 2024