The surface of an oxide may have a composition different from that of the bulk. A method of calculation of the composition of a powder from the surface structure is presented. It is applied to a Co3O4 sample for which data on composition are deduced from gravimetry, neutron scattering and magnetic susceptibility measurements. It is found that at most 20 % of the excess of oxygen above stoichimetry has to be attributed to cation vacancies, the rest being due to the surface. Charges are counted by the same method, showing that surface oxygen are almost exclusively O-.
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Marcus-Saubat et al. (1986) studied this question.
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