Interactions of Atomic and Molecular Hydrogen with a Diamond-like Carbon Surface: H2 Formation and Desorption

TL;DR

This study investigates how atomic and molecular hydrogen interact with diamond-like carbon surfaces, revealing efficient H2 formation at low temperatures and the role of quantum tunneling in H-atom diffusion, relevant for interstellar chemistry.

Contribution

It provides new insights into H2 formation mechanisms on amorphous DLC surfaces, highlighting quantum tunneling effects and coverage-dependent desorption energetics.

Findings

H2 formation on DLC is efficient at 20 K.

H2 desorption activation energies decrease with coverage.

Quantum tunneling mediates H-atom diffusion.

Abstract

The interactions of atomic and molecular hydrogen with bare interstellar dust grain surfaces are important for understanding H2 formation at relatively high temperatures (>20 K). We investigate the diffusion of physisorbed H atoms and the desorption energetics of H2 molecules on an amorphous diamond-like carbon (DLC) surface. From temperature-programmed desorption experiments with a resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) method for H2 detection, the H2 coverage-dependent activation energies for H2 desorption are determined. The activation energies decrease with increasing H2 coverage and are centered at 30 meV with a narrow distribution. Using a combination of photostimulated desorption and REMPI methods, the time variations of the surface number density of H2 following atomic and molecular hydrogen depositions are studied. From these measurements, we show that H2 formation on a DLC surface is quite efficient, even at 20 K. A significant kinetic isotope effect for H2 and D2 recombination reactions suggests that H-atom diffusion on a DLC surface is mediated by quantum mechanical tunneling. In astrophysically relevant conditions, H2 recombination due to physisorbed H-atoms is unlikely to occur at 20 K, suggesting that chemisorbed H atoms might play a role in H2 formation at relatively high temperatures.