First-principles study of the interaction of H2O with the GaSb (001) surface

The adsorption of H2O on the GaSb (001) surface, both clean and with pre-adsorbed H atoms, has been studied computationally using dispersion-corrected density functional theory. The model employed is the α-(4×3) reconstruction consisting of Ga-Sb dimers adsorbed on the Sb-terminated surface, a disordered version of which is believed to constitute the frequently observed Sb-rich (1×3) surface. On the clean surface, molecular adsorption of H2O at a coordinatively unsaturated Ga site is exothermic (ΔE = −0.57 eV), but dissociation of this adsorbed H2O is significantly endothermic (ΔE = +0.45 eV or more). Dissociation can form either a (HO)Ga-Sb(H) site involving a Ga-Sb dimer or a (H)Ga-O(H)-Sb bridge. Other reactions are also energetically feasible, depending on the bond strength of different inequivalent Ga-Sb dimers. The two structures have essentially the same energy, and both can undergo an exothermic reaction with a second H2O. For the (HO)Ga-Sb(H) site, this reaction leads to the breaking of the dimer bond and the adsorption of molecular water, while the (H)Ga-O(H)-Sb bridge transforms to (HO)Ga-O(H)-Sb with the release of H2. On the H-terminated surface, molecular adsorption of H2O can be suppressed and dissociative adsorption enhanced, which means that formation of an OH-terminated surface may be easier when starting with an H-terminated vs. a clean surface. The implications of these results for the growth of oxide/GaSb heterostructures via atomic layer deposition are discussed.