Methanol at Water-TiO₂ Interfaces: Free Energies of Water and Methanol Dissociation

Methanol adsorption on TiO₂ surfaces has long been studied due to its role in enhancing photocatalytic hydrogen evolution, yet how it modulates surface chemistry under aqueous conditions remains little understood. Using deep learning-assisted ab initio molecular dynamics, we find that methanol adsorption induces markedly different effects on the aqueous surfaces of anatase and rutile, the two common phases of TiO₂. In anatase, methanol adsorption significantly enhances water dissociation, which is otherwise rare at the neat water interface. This enhancement arises from an alternative dissociation pathway mediated by surface-bound methoxyl groups. In contrast, methanol adsorption tends to suppress water dissociation on rutile, replacing it with thermodynamically favored methanol dissociation. Overall, methanol adsorption in an aqueous environment alters not only the availability of key reactive intermediates involved in hydrogen evolution but also the hydrogen source, which turns out to be primarily methanol on rutile, whereas both water and methanol are consumed on anatase. These results provide mechanistic insights into the coupled roles of organic adsorbates and water at photocatalytic interfaces, with implications on how methanol enhances the activity of H₂ evolution.