“…For pure water, the most important ions are hydroxide and hydronium ions, and their effect on metal oxides, including TiO 2 [106] and Fe 2 O 3 [107,108] gives rise to the well-known 59 mV pH À1 variation of the flatband potential with the solution pH [109]. In surface water, phosphate, silicate, and fluoride ions are often strongly adsorbing [110], which determines the redox stability of many minerals [109]. In contrast, the flatband potentials of II/VI, III/V, and group IV semiconductors are more susceptible to adsorption of soft ligands, including sulfur [111], HS À [112,113], HTe À [114,115], and Cl À [116].…”