Nanoscopic diffusion of water on a topological insulator

Anton Tamtögl (), Marco Sacchi, Nadav Avidor, Irene Calvo-Almazán, Peter S. M. Townsend, Martin Bremholm, Philip Hofmann, John Ellis and William Allison
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Anton Tamtögl: Graz University of Technology
Marco Sacchi: University of Surrey
Nadav Avidor: Cavendish Laboratory
Irene Calvo-Almazán: Cavendish Laboratory
Peter S. M. Townsend: Cavendish Laboratory
Martin Bremholm: Aarhus University
Philip Hofmann: Aarhus University
John Ellis: Cavendish Laboratory
William Allison: Cavendish Laboratory

Nature Communications, 2020, vol. 11, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract The microscopic motion of water is a central question, but gaining experimental information about the interfacial dynamics of water in fields such as catalysis, biophysics and nanotribology is challenging due to its ultrafast motion, and the complex interplay of inter-molecular and molecule-surface interactions. Here we present an experimental and computational study of the nanoscale-nanosecond motion of water at the surface of a topological insulator (TI), Bi$${}_{2}$$2Te$${}_{3}$$3. Understanding the chemistry and motion of molecules on TI surfaces, while considered a key to design and manufacturing for future applications, has hitherto been hardly addressed experimentally. By combining helium spin-echo spectroscopy and density functional theory calculations, we are able to obtain a general insight into the diffusion of water on Bi$${}_{2}$$2Te$${}_{3}$$3. Instead of Brownian motion, we find an activated jump diffusion mechanism. Signatures of correlated motion suggest unusual repulsive interactions between the water molecules. From the lineshape broadening we determine the diffusion coefficient, the diffusion energy and the pre-exponential factor.

Date: 2020
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-14064-7

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