Dirac nodal lines and flat-band surface state in the functional oxide RuO2

The efficiency and stability of RuO2 in electrocatalysis has made this material a subject of intense fundamental and industrial interest. The surface functionality is rooted in its electronic and magnetic properties, determined by a complex interplay of lattice-, spin-rotational, and time-reversal symmetries, as well as the competition between Coulomb and kinetic energies. This interplay was predicted to produce a network of Dirac nodal lines (DNLs), where the valence and conduction bands touch along continuous lines in momentum space. Here we uncover direct evidence for three DNLs in RuO2 by angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. These DNLs give rise to a flat-band surface state that is readily tuned by the electrostatic environment, and that presents an intriguing platform for exotic correlation phenomena. Our findings support high spin-Hall conductivities and bulk magnetism in RuO2, and are likely related to its catalytic properties.