Surface chemistry and nonadecanoic acid adsorbate layers on TiO2(100) surfaces prepared at ambient conditions

► TiO2(100) surfaces were prepared under ambient conditions via wet-chemical etching and annealing. ► The surface and adsorbate chemistry was investigated by means of angle resolved XPS and AFM. ► The surface showed a termination of hydroxides and a 1 × 5 superstructure. ► The adsorption of nonadecanoic acid from ethanolic solution on TiO2(100) surfaces was studied. ► Nonadecanoic acid forms a disordered layer on the TiO2(100) surface with a coverage of less than one monolayer.