Evidence for the intrinsic nature of band-gap states electrochemically observed on atomically flat TiO2(110) surfaces.

Using an ultra-high vacuum (UHV) electrochemistry approach with pulsed laser deposition (PLD), we investigated the band-gap state for TiO2(110). In the PLD chamber, a TiO2(110) surface was cleaned by annealing in O2 enough for it to exhibit a sharp (1 × 1) reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED) pattern. The cleaned TiO2(110)-(1 × 1) sample then underwent electrochemical measurements without exposure to air, showing the band-gap state at -0.