The regeneration mechanisms of the sulfurized and oxygen-deficient ZnO(10 (1) over bar0) surfaces in an oxygen atmosphere have been systematically studied by using the density functional theory (OFF) method. An activation energy of 36.79 kJ.mol(-1) is needed for the regeneration of the sulfurized ZnO(10 (1) over bar0) surface at the GGA-PW91 functional level. The formed SO2 lies on the ZnO(10 (1) over bar0) surface horizontally. S in SO2 bonds to a surface oxygen atom to form an analogical SO3 structure. Two regeneration mechanisms are studied for the oxygen-deficient ZnO(10 (1) over bar0) surface. One is that O-2 dissociatively adsorbs on the oxygen-deficient ZnO(10 (1) over bar0) surface leading to the regeneration of the surface. The other is that O-2 molecularly adsorbs on the oxygen-deficient ZnO(10 (1) over bar0) surface, then a little activation energy of 29.43 kJ.mol(-1) is needed to make the surface regenerate. It can be concluded that the sulfurized and oxygen-deficient ZnO(10 (1) over bar0) surfaces are easy to be regenerated in an atmosphere containing O-2. (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.