Reaction of atomic hydrogen with chemisorbed species: C 2H 4 on W

Abstract

Atomic hydrogen produced in controlled thermonuclear reactors is capable of very rapid reaction with both the material of the first wall and with adsorbed species. We have been investigating the reactions of thermal atomic hydrogen with ethylene adsorbed on a tungsten film. When adsorbed at room temperature ethylene reacts to yield gaseous hydrogen and a carbonaceous residue which reacts with incident atomic hydrogen to yield methane along with minor amounts of ethane. This product distribution, however, depends on the chemical nature of the adsorbed species. Adsorption at 178K, a temperature at which the ethylene molecule is stable, inverts this distribution with ethane now being the major product. Analysis of the system dynamics shows that the rate of production of each product is proportional to the product of the steady state increase in the product pressure and the pumping time constant of the vacuum system. For the case of methane production following room temperature adsorption of ethylene, the reaction probability for the production of methane for the reaction C + 4 H → CH 4 is ~0.001 and arguments are given for a larger value.