A Molecular Mechanism for the Water-Hydroxyl Balance during Wetting of TiO2
We show that the formation of the wetting layer and the experimentally observed continuous shift of the H2O-OH balance toward molecular water at increasing coverage on a TiO2(110) surface can be rationalized on a molecular level. The mechanism is based on the initial formation of stable hydroxyl pairs, a repulsive interaction between these pairs, and an attractive interaction with respect to water