EPR of Charge Carriers Stabilized at the Surface of Metal Oxides

Some cases of formation and stabilization of charge carriers (electron and holes) at the surface of solid oxides are discussed. Charge carriers can be simultaneously or independently stabilized at the surface metal oxides. In the former case, they usually derive from a process of charge separation in the solid triggered by above band gap irradiation. In the second case, the charge carrier isolation is the result of a chemical alteration of the stoichiometric equilibrium of the solid either by matter addition or by effect of chemical impurities (valence induction). Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) is highly suited to monitor the process of charge separation and to characterize electron or hole centers stabilized in the solid or at its surface. In this paper examples of trapped electron and/or trapped hole centers as detected by continuous-wave EPR at the surface of simple binary oxides are discussed with particular emphasis to the formation mechanism, the EPR parameters and the chemical reactivity.