In situ observation of H 2 dissociation on the ZnO (0001) surface under high pressure of hydrogen using ambient-pressure XPS

The interaction of H2 molecules with a ZnO (0001) single crystal surface has been studied over a wide pressure (10−6–0.25 Torr) and temperature (300–600 K) range using ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (AP-XPS). ZnO is well-known for interstitial hydrogen and hydrogen atoms in ZnO are believed to be incorporated by the dissociative adsorption of H2 molecules in the atmosphere and their subsequent diffusion into the bulk. The dissociative adsorption of H2 has been investigated at elevated pressures because H2 molecules are not dissociated on the ZnO single crystal surface under ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) conditions. When the pressure is increased to several mTorr, the dissociative adsorption of H2 takes place to form OH bonds on the surface. At 0.25 Torr, the ZnO surface is saturated with H atoms and the coverage is estimated to be 1.1 × 1015 atoms/cm2 at 300 K. At higher surface temperatures, the equilibrium between the dissociative adsorption of gas-phase H2 molecules and the associative desorption of surface H atoms is established. While maintaining the equilibrium, the surface has been monitored successfully in situ by utilizing AP-XPS.