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O: Fachverband Oberflächenphysik
O 54: Focus Session: Scanning Probe Microscopy with Quartz Sensors II
O 54.8: Talk
Wednesday, March 29, 2023, 17:15–17:30, CHE 89
Atomic-scale imaging of the cleaved feldspar microcline (001) surface and its interaction with water — •Luca Lezuo, Andrea Conti, Jan Balajka, Igor Sokolović, Florian Mittendorfer, Michael Schmid, Ulrike Diebold, and Giada Franceschi — Institute of Applied Physics, TU Wien, Wiedner Hauptstrasse 8-10/E134, 1040 Wien, Austria
Feldspar microcline (KAlSi3O8), abundant in the Earth’s crust and present as dust particles in the atmosphere, is known to be one of the best ice nucleators. The exact processes driving the interaction of microcline with water have been studied intensively [1], but atomic-scale investigations remain elusive.
We present experimental, atomic-scale studies of the microcline-water interaction. The surfaces were prepared by UHV cleaving and analysed with non-contact atomic force microscopy (nc-AFM) and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The cleaved surface consists of a honeycomb array that we assign to differently back-bonded O atoms. Dosing water vapour at 100 K causes the appearance of a hexagonal lattice and the gradual formation of a connected water network. DFT calculations help us to rationalize our experimental results.
[1] A. Kumar, et al., Atmos. Chem. Phys. 18, 7057 (2018)