Electron Localization Determines Defect Formation on Ceria Substrates
Leibniz University Hannover · Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati · +4 more institutions
Abstract
The high performance of ceria (CeO2) as an oxygen buffer and active support for noble metals in catalysis relies on an efficient supply of lattice oxygen at reaction sites governed by oxygen vacancy formation. We used high-resolution scanning tunneling microscopy and density functional calculations to unravel the local structure of surface and subsurface oxygen vacancies on the (111) surface. Electrons left behind by released oxygen localize on cerium ions. Clusters of more than two vacancies exclusively expose these reduced cerium ions, primarily by including subsurface vacancies, which therefore play a crucial role in the process of vacancy cluster formation. These results have implications for our…
Citation impact
- FWCI
- 17.85
- Percentile
- 100%
- References
- 27
Authors
8- FEFriedrich EschCorresponding
Leibniz University Hannover, Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati, University of Trieste, Consorzio Interuniversitario per le Biotecnologie, National Interuniversity Consortium of Materials Science and Technology, Istituto Nazionale per la Fisica della Materia
- SFStefano Fabris
Leibniz University Hannover, Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati, University of Trieste, Consorzio Interuniversitario per le Biotecnologie, National Interuniversity Consortium of Materials Science and Technology, Istituto Nazionale per la Fisica della Materia
- LZLing Zhou
Leibniz University Hannover, Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati, University of Trieste, Consorzio Interuniversitario per le Biotecnologie, National Interuniversity Consortium of Materials Science and Technology, Istituto Nazionale per la Fisica della Materia
- TMTiziano Montini
Leibniz University Hannover, Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati, University of Trieste, Consorzio Interuniversitario per le Biotecnologie, National Interuniversity Consortium of Materials Science and Technology, Istituto Nazionale per la Fisica della Materia
- CACristina Africh
Leibniz University Hannover, Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati, University of Trieste, Consorzio Interuniversitario per le Biotecnologie, National Interuniversity Consortium of Materials Science and Technology, Istituto Nazionale per la Fisica della Materia
Topics & keywords
- Cerium
- Scanning tunneling microscope
- Vacancy defect
- Chemical physics
- Oxygen
- Ion
- Catalysis
- Cluster (spacecraft)