Direct observation of charge transfer at a MgO(111) surface.

Transmission electron diffraction (TED) combined with direct methods have been used to study the sqrt[3]xsqrt[3]R30 degrees reconstruction on the polar (111) surface of MgO and refine the valence charge distribution. The surface is nonstoichiometric and is terminated by a single magnesium atom. A charge-compensating electron hole is localized in the next oxygen layer and there is a nominal charge transfer from the oxygen atoms to the top magnesium atom. The partial charges that we obtain for the surface atoms are in reasonable agreement with empirical bond-valence estimations.