Enhancement of the Schottky Effect in a Si(100)—Water System Using Porous Polymeric Track-Etched Membranes

The kinetics of variation in the electronic work function (EWF) of single-crystal silicon Si(100) exposed to liquid water is studied. It is shown that immersing porous film track-etched membranes (TEMs) with pore sizes of 3.0–0.1 μm in water containing Si(100) considerably reduces the EWF of single-crystal silicon. It is found that a similar effect is observed when TEMs in the form of caps are held over the surface of water containing Si(100) at a distances of around 1.5–2.0 cm. It is speculated that the occurrence of a developed surface of TEMs in an open system changes the supramolecular structure of the water and leads to the formation of associates (H2O)n with increased dipole moments (compared to molecular moments), enhancing the Schottky effect during sorption on Si(100) surfaces.