# Reconstruction changes drive surface diffusion and determine the flatness of oxide surfaces

Source: [Reconstruction changes drive surface diffusion and determine the flatness of oxide surfaces](<https://www.sota2.com/research/paper/68fa45271e209131ce916520>)

Collection index: [llms.txt](<https://www.sota2.com/research/llms.txt>)

Data updated: 2025-10-27T04:23:11.318Z

Authors: Giada Franceschi, Michael Schmid, Ulrike Diebold, Michele Riva

Published: 2023-08-27T08:39:23.000Z

## Abstract

Surface diffusion on metal oxides is key in many areas of materials technology, yet it has been scarcely explored at the atomic scale. This work provides phenomenological insights from scanning tunneling microscopy on the link between surface diffusion, surface atomic structure, and oxygen chemical potential based on three model oxide surfaces: Fe$\_2$O$\_3(1\\overline{1}02)$, La$\_{1-x}$Sr$\_x$MnO$\_3$(110), and In$\_2$O$\_3$(111). In all instances, changing the oxygen chemical potential used for annealing stabilizes reconstructions of different compositions while promoting the flattening of the surface morphology -- a sign of enhanced surface diffusion. It is argued that thermodynamics, rather than kinetics, rules surface diffusion under these conditions: The composition change of the surface reconstructions formed at differently oxidizing conditions drives mass transport across the surface.

## Recorded benchmark results

A research result applies to its stated dataset, split, metric and evaluation configuration. Compare like-for-like settings, preserve the metric's unit and direction, and distinguish paper-reported results from independent reproduction. The best result recorded here is not a claim of exhaustive, current global coverage.

## Original sources and implementation

[Original paper](<https://arxiv.org/abs/2308.14043>)

[PDF](<https://arxiv.org/pdf/2308.14043.pdf>)