Atomic chemical composition and reactivity of the TiC(111) surface

The properties of both the clean and oxygen covered TiC(111) surfaces have been studied by electron spectroscopy and ion scattering spectroscopy. It has been confirmed that the topmost layer of the clean surface consists of Ti atoms, which are arranged in a 1 × 1 surface unit cell. The work function has been measured to be 4.7 ± 0.1 eV, which is much higher than those of the neutral surfaces such as (100). This may be attributed to the compensational charge, which is induced in front of the Ti topmost layer so as to eliminate the electric field of the polar surface.