State specific velocity distribution of hydrogen isotopes desorbing from Pd(100)

Abstract

Velocity distributions of recombinatively desorbing hydrogen molecules and their isotopic variants HD and D 2 have been determined with internal state selection using resonantly enhanced (VUV + UV) two-photon ionization spectroscopy. In the experiments the surface temperature of the permeation source is kept constant at various temperatures between 440 and 770 K. The velocity distributions of molecules desorbed from a clean Pd(100) surface are found to be Maxwell-Boltzmann like, but an isotope effect of the average kinetic energy is observed. The kinetic energy of hydrogen molecules agrees with that expected for molecules in thermal equilibrium with the surface. For deuterium molecules the average kinetic energy 〈 E kin〉 is about 10–30 meV higher than expected for molecules in a thermal equilibrium at T s . Within the experimental error bars no significant dependence of the average kinetic energies on the rovibrational states is detected. Preadsorption of sulfur leads to a non-Maxwell-Boltzmann velocity distribution with a significantly enhanced average kinetic energy.