Cleaning the surfaces of the as-deposited Ge2Sb2Te5 was studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The mixed native oxides on the as-deposited Ge2Sb2Te5 surface can be easily removed by dipping Ge2Sb2Te5 in de-ionized water for 1 min, while the surface morphology remains unchanged after cleaning. Native oxides only re-grow after exposure to air for more than 4 min. Although dipping in water leads to a surface layer deficient in Ge and Sb, the surface composition of Ge2Sb2Te5 can recover to its stoichiometric value after annealing at 200 degrees C in vacuum. The phase remains amorphous at room temperature after dipping in water, and changes to fcc and hcp after annealing at 100 and 220 degrees C, respectively. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.