Chemical changes induced on a TiO2 surface by electron bombardment

We study the TiO2 (Ti4+) chemical reduction induced by electron bombardment using Auger electron spectroscopy and factor analysis. We show that the electron irradiation of a TiO2 sample is characterized by the appearance of a lower Ti oxidation state, Ti2O3 (Ti3+), followed by a further deposition of carbon, which is present inevitably in the environment even under ultra-high vacuum conditions. The appearance of C over the surface is found to be a complex mechanism which affects the reduction process through passivation of the electron-induced oxygen desorption and formation of titanium carbide. For very high irradiation doses, we also found that the chemical changes on the surface are stopped due to the deposition of carbon in a graphitic form.