INTERRELATIONSHIP OF STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS ON TIO2(100)-(1X3)

Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) has been used to investigate the i nteraction of nanoscale structural elements associated with rutile TiO 2(100)-(1 x 3). These are the 1 x 3 reconstruction, vicinal off-cut st eps in the [001] direction, and up-down steps in the [010] direction. The STM data image the microfacet morphology of the 1 x 3 reconstructi on suggested by diffraction measurements. They also provide an explana tion for the stabilization of the up-down steps by the vicinal off-cut , which involves maximizing the area of the (110) microfacets at the e xpense of high-energy (001) step edges.