Laterally averaged interaction potentials for 1H 2 and 2H 2 on the (0001) graphite surface

Abstract

Laterally averaged interaction potentials for 1H 2 and 2H 2 on the basal plane of graphite are derived from lattice sums of Lennard-Jones (6, 12) pairwise potentials using empirically derived parameters for the carbon-carbon interactions in graphite and the molecule-molecule interactions for 1H 2 and 2H 2. The anisotropy of the carbon atoms in graphite is explicitly taken into account. The resulting potentials and their excited levels are compared with experimental energy levels reported by Mattera et al. [1] and with the potential functions inferred by them from these levels. Considering that the calculations presented here contain no adjustable parameters, the agreement with the experimental results is quite satisfactory.