The effects of 6 keV Ar+ ion bombardment on the surface composition of simple and complex titanium oxides

Low-Energy Ar+ Ion-Beam-Induced Amorphization and Chemical Modification of Potassium Titanyl Arsenate (001) Crystal Surfaces

“…The observation that there is no shift in BE of Ti 2p doublet and no shoulder formation in the Ti 2p 3/2 component on the lower BE side clearly indicates that there is no change in chemical state of Ti. It is quite interesting to see that the interaction of the (001) KTA surfaces with Ar + ions does not generate reduced Ti that is typically observed for KTP family crystals and other titanates, − ,− and practically all Ti remain in Ti 4+ state. The detailed XPS scans of As 3p doublet and As 3d establishes the chemical state of arsenic as As 5+ for the pristine (001) KTA surface.…”

“…Alteration of the structure and chemical composition of materials due to energetic ions or neutral particles is the most important concern in physical chemistry of surfaces/interfaces. The mechanism of ion-induced alteration of single and/or binary component oxides is well established. − ,− The Ti-bearing oxides have been particularly investigated in the past to investigate the effect of ions, such as helium, argon, and oxygen, and neutral particles since these materials exhibit various stoichiometric states and multiple valence states of Ti. − ,− Formation of reduced states, such as Ti 3+ , Ti 2+ , and even metallic Ti, on the surfaces of TiO 2 and other Ti-bearing simple oxides due to ion beam-induced alteration, depending on the conditions, of surface layers is well-known. − Chemical changes are usually attributed to the preferential sputtering. However, the mechanism of multicomponent oxide crystals in not well-developed and requires further attention.…”