Abstract
Epitaxially grown V2O3(0001) thin films have been prepared with different surface terminations, as evidenced byatomically resolved scanning tunnelling microscopy and high-resolution electronenergy loss spectroscopy (HREELS) phonon spectra. The spectral changesobserved in valence band photoemission spectra and HREELS on cooling theV2O3 samples from 300 to 100 K have been associated with the metal–insulator transition (MIT) in the bulkof the V2O3 film. The reconstructed surface regions per se do not display the MIT, butaffect the MIT signature observed with surface sensitive techniques, dependingon the thickness of the reconstructions. Whereas the thermodynamically stable(1 × 1) vanadyl V = O surface termination allows the observation in photoemission and HREELS of a clearsignature of the MIT, the latter is screened on a surface formed by V = O defect structures. Doping of the surface with small amounts of adsorbed water restores reversibly the MIT spectralfingerprints. These observations are discussed in terms of the different geometrical andelectronic structures of the different surface terminations.
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