Thermal desorption of argon and neon from solid xenon. II. Sticking probabilities

Abstract

The practical difficulties associated with full molecular dynamics simultations of thermal desorption processes have necessitated the finding of more efficient ways of studying these phenomena. Transition state theory provides part of the solution, but in order to obtain exact rate constants, one must also calculate dynamical corrections, in this case sticking probabilities. The present work proposes a means for computing sticking probabilities that permits the inclusion of both the thermal motion of the solid atoms and also the interactions among adsorbed species. Using this formalism we have made a study of the effects of changes in temperature and adsorbate coverage on sticking probabilities for Ar, Ne–Xe(111), with the results suggesting that these two effects can be indeed significant but that they are not necessarily independent of one another.