Adsorption of small molecules at the cobalt-doped SrTiO3(001) surface: A first-principles investigation

The cobalt-doped SrTiO3 (001) surface and its interaction with small molecules (CO, NO and O2) is investigated by DFT and DFT + U calculations. Structural, electronic, and chemical changes induced by the presence of the cobalt impurity are studied. Similar to what is found for the bulk SrTiO3, cobalt impurities promote the formation of oxygen vacancies and tend to cluster with them. The presence of impurities has a strong influence on adsorption and in particular it gives rise i) to an enhancement of the adsorption energies and ii) to an inversion of the π electron flux from a surface → molecule to a molecule → surface donation. Furthermore, the examined molecular probes have different affinities with surface defects/impurities: whereas the vacancy site is favored for O2and CO, NO is preferentially adsorbed at the Co impurity site. The obtained results provide the basis for further studies of the catalytic properties of Co-doped SrTiO3.