Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 February 2011
We have studied the effects of deposition conditions on the epitaxial orientation of Au or TiO2 (110) and on the atomic structure of Au/TiO2 interfaces by combined EBSD and HRTEM. Two experimental conditions were explored consisting of deposition of a 12 nim Au film at 300K followed by annealing at 770K and direct deposition of a 12 nm Au film at 770K. Deposition at 300K followed by annealing at 770K give rise to a (111)Au//(110)TiO2 epitaxial orientation relationship, while direct deposition at 700K temperature give rise to an epitaxial orientation relationship given by (112)Au//(110)TiO2. For both orientations, two epitaxial variants are observed which are twin related. The (112)Au//(110)TiO2 orientation has been found to minimize the interfacial lattice misfit while maximizing the number of Au-Ti bonds across the interface.