Molecule dissociation at the Fe3O4 (001) surface

The molecular dissociation at the single-crystalline Fe3O4 (001) surface has been investigated using the diatomic H+2 , D+2 and N+2 molecules in the energy range of 3�{8 keV and in the temperature range of 90 K�{300 K. The single collision of ions released from dissociation with the surface atoms was observed only for the N2+ molecules. The detail analysis confirmed that for the light molecules such as H2+ and D2+ the charge-transfer process dominate the interaction of a molecule with the magnetite surface. A large change in the scattered ion yields around the Verwey phase transition temperature was observed indicating a strong correlation between the molecule dissociation and the electronic state of the magnetite surface.