Atomically dispersed Cu species on a TiO2(1 1 0) surface precovered with acetic anhydride

Preparing highly dispersed monoatomic Cu species on a TiO2(1 1 0) surface was successfully achieved on a TiO2(1 1 0) surface that had been precovered with an acetic anhydride layer. Polarization-dependent total reflection fluorescence X-ray absorption fine structure (PTRF-XAFS) spectra indicated that the three-dimensional structures of the monoatomic Cu species were stabilized on the surface by two 0.196-nm-long C–O bonds, namely, Cu–O (acetate) and Cu–O (bridging surface oxygen) bonds. The Cu species diffusion was effectively blocked by the acetate species with its molecular plane perpendicular to the [0 0 1] diffusion direction created by the dissociative adsorption of acetic anhydride.