Controlling the charge state of single Mo dopants in a CaO film

Recent experiments have demonstrated that tiny amounts of Mo impurities give rise to drastic changes in the adsorption characteristic of a wide-gap CaO(001) film. In this scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and density functional theory paper, we elucidate the underlying mechanism by analyzing the energy levels of the Mo dopants as a function of their oxidation state and depth below the surface. We show that Mo²⁺ ions in CaO subsurface layers can be reversibly charged and discharged by inducing local band-bending effects with the STM tip. A similar charge switching is not possible for Mo species in a higher oxidation state, as their highest-occupied molecular orbitals are located well below the onset of the CaO conduction band. The easiness of charge switching in Mo²⁺ ions explains the remarkable chemical properties of doped CaO films, as it renders the material a strong electron donor to adsorbates bound to the oxide surface