Atomic force microscope (AFM) was used to determine the atomic configuration and topography of the surfaces of KMn8O16 powders containing K ions. By affixing a powder to mica, we successfully determined the first surface structure of KMn8O16 powder. The low-resolution imaging showed that the powder has needle-like crystallites, and the high-resolution imaging revealed that the powder surface has a “faceted”; structure. Periodicities on the faceted plane that correspond to the configuration of surface OH groups and bridging O atoms of the (110) plane was found by the atomic-scale imaging. The close agreement between the images and the bulk structure suggests that the (110) surface of KMn8O16 is a termination of the bulk structure without reconstruction.
