Coexistence of Both Localized Electronic States and Electron Gas at Rutile TiO₂ Surfaces

Localized electron polarons formed through the coupling of excess electrons and ionic vibrations play a key role in the functionalities of materials. However, the mechanism of the coexistence of delocalized electrons and localized polarons remains underexplored. Here, the discovery of high-mobility 2D electron gas at the rutile TiO₂ surfaces through argon ion irradiation induced oxygen vacancies is reported. Strikingly, the electron gas forms localized electronic states at lower temperatures, resulting in an abrupt metal–insulator transition. Moreover, it is found that the low-temperature conductivity in the insulating state is dominated by excess free electrons with a high mobility of ≈10³ cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹, whereas the carrier density is dramatically suppressed with decreasing temperature. Remarkably, it reveals that the application of an electric field can lead to a collapse of the localized states, resulting in a metallic state. These results reveal the strongly correlated/coupled nature between the localized electrons and high-mobility electrons and offer a new pathway to probe and harvest the exotic electron states at the complex oxide surfaces.