Theoretical study of ZnO adsorption and bonding on Al₂O ₃ (0001) surface

ZnO adsorption on sapphire (0001) surface is theoretically calculated by using a plane wave ultrasoft pseudo-potential method based on ab initio molecular dynamics. The results reveal that the surface relaxation in the first layer Al-O is reduced, even eliminated after the surface adsorption of ZnO, and the chemical bonding energy is 434.3(±38.6) kJ · mol^-1. The chemical bond of ZnO (0.185 ± 0.01 nm) has a 30° angle away from the adjacent Al-O bond, and the stable chemical adsorption position of the Zn is deflected from the surface O-hexagonal symmetry with an angle of about 30°. The analysis of the atomic populations, density of state and bonding electronic density before and after the adsorption indicates that the chemical bond formed by the O^2- of the ZnO and the surface Al³⁺ has a strong ionic bonding characteristic, while the chemical bond formed by the Zn²⁺ and the surface O^2- has an obvious covalent characteristic, which comes mainly from the hybridization of the Zn 4s and the O 2p and partially from that of the Zn 3d and the O 2p. Copyright by Science in China Press 2004.