Atomically Resolved Surface Reconstruction of WO3 (002)

The rearrangement of surface atoms in oxide nanocrystals, namely surface reconstruction, plays an important role in improving the physical and chemical properties of metal oxides. However, structural information pertaining to reconstructed surfaces is scarce due to the challenges associated with directly imaging surface and sub-surface atoms under reconstruction conditions. Herein, the reconstruction of the nanocrystalline tungsten trioxide (002) surface is directly investigated via scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM). The results reveal that the atoms on the reconstructed WO