Quantification of electronic band gap and surface states on FeS2(100)

The interfacial electronic properties and charge transfer characteristics of pyrite, FeS2, are greatly influenced by the presence of electronic states at the crystal free surface. We investigate the surface electronic structure of FeS2 (100) using scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) and interpret the results using tunneling current simulations informed by density functional theory. Intrinsic, dangling bond surface states located at the band edges reduce the fundamental band gap Eg from 0.95 eV in bulk FeS2 to 0.4 ± 0.1 eV at the surface. Extrinsic surface states from sulfur and iron defects contribute to Fermi level pinning but, due to their relatively low density of states, no detectable tunneling current was measured at energies within the intrinsic surface Eg. These findings help elucidate the nature of energy alignment for electron transfer processes at pyrite surfaces, which are relevant to evaluation of electrochemical processes including corrosion and solar energy conversion.