  The transfer of electrons between a solid surface and adsorbed atomic or
molecular species is fundamental in natural and synthetic processes, being at
the heart of most catalytic reactions and many sensors. In special cases,
metallic conduction can be induced at the surface of, for example,
Si-terminated SiC1, or mixed-terminated ZnO2, in the presence of a hydrogen
adlayer. Generally, only the surface atoms are significantly affected by
adsorbates. However, remotely changing electronic states far from the adsorbed
layer is possible if these states are electrostatically coupled to the surface.
Here we show that the surface adsorption of common solvents such as acetone,
ethanol, and water can induce a large change (factor of three) in the
conductivity at the buried interface between SrTiO3 substrates and LaAlO3 thin
films3-8. This phenomenon is observed only for polar solvents. Our result
provides experimental evidence that adsorbates at the LaAlO3 surface induce
accumulation of electrons at the LaAlO3/SrTiO3 interface, suggesting a general
polarization-facilitated electronic transfer mechanism, which can be used for
sensor applications.
