Water vapor interactions with polycrystalline titanium surfaces

The initial interactions of water vapor with polycrystalline titanium surfaces were studied at room temperature. Measurements of water vapor surface accumulation were performed in a combined surface analysis system incorporating direct recoils spectrometry (DRS), Auger electron spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The kinetics of accommodation of the water dissociation fragments (H, O and OH) displayed a complex behavior depending not only on the exposure dose but also on the exposure pressure. For a given exposure dose the efficiency of chemisorption increased with increasing exposure pressure. DRS measurements indicated the occurrence of clustered hydroxyl moieties with tilted O-H bonds formed even at very low surface coverage. A model which assumes two parallel routes of chemisorption, by direct collisions (Langmuir type) and by a precursor state is proposed to account for the observed behavior. The oxidation efficiency of water seemed to be much lower than that of oxygen. No Ti⁴⁺ states were detected even at high water exposure values. It is likely that hydroxyl species play an important role in the reduced oxidation efficiency of water.