Dissociative adsorption and associative desorption of H2 on a flat surface

Abstract

A quantum mechanical time-dependent method was used to study the dynamics of dissociative adsorption and associative desorption of H2 on a flat, static surface. We used a two-dimensional model in which the molecular axis was held parallel to the surface and the diatom internuclear separation and distance above the surface were the dynamic variables. A modified London–Eyring–Polanyi–Sato (LEPS) potential described the molecule–surface interactions. The wave function for the molecule was represented by its values on a spatial grid of points. The wave function was propagated by expanding the time evolution operator in a series of Chebyshev polynomials and using the properties of the Fourier transform to calculate the kinetic energy. The computational requirements of the problem were significantly reduced by using an L-shaped grid which deletes a large number of points where it is known a priori that the wave-function amplitude vanishes. State-to-state transition probabilities were calculated as a function of the initial translational and vibrational energy for potentials with early, late, and intermediate barriers. The location of the barrier has a strong effect on the energy threshold for reaction and on the distribution of energy between vibration and translation in the products.