Investigation of tunneling current and local contact potential difference on the TiO2(110) surface by AFM/KPFM at 78 K

We propose a new multi-image method for obtaining the frequency shift, tunneling current and local contact potential difference (LCPD) on a TiO₂(110) surface with atomic resolution. The tunneling current image reveals rarely observed surface oxygen atoms contrary to the conventional results. We analyze how the surface and subsurface defects affect the distribution of the LCPD. In addition, the subsurface defects are observed clearly in the tunneling current image, in contrast to a topographic image. To clarify the origin of the atomic contrast, we perform site-dependent spectroscopy as a function of the tip-sample distance. The multi-image method is expected to be widely used to investigate the charge transfer phenomena between the nanoparticles and surface sites, and it is useful for elucidating the mechanisms of catalytic reactions.