Role of hydroxylation for the atomic structure of a non-polar vicinal zinc oxide

Abstract

Under-coordinated corner and edge sites often dictate oxide properties, however, information about their atomic-scale structure and chemical nature is often missing. Here, a combined experimental and theoretical study of the ZnO( $$10\bar{1}4$$ 10 1 ¯ 4 ) surface reveals stable, long-range ordered, non-polar facets of ZnO, with a high step-density and uniform termination.