Vacuum ultraviolet surface photochemistry of water adsorbed on graphite

Time dependent wettability of graphite upon ambient exposure: the role of water adsorption

We report the temporal evolution of the wettability of highly ordered pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) exposed to environmental conditions. Macroscopic wettability is investigated by static and dynamic contact angles (SCA and DCA) obtaining values comparable to the ones presented in the literature. SCA increases from ∼68° to ∼90° during the first hour of exposure after cleaving, whereas DCA is characterized by longer-scale (24 h) time evolution. We interpret these results in light of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, which indicates that the evolution of the HOPG wettability is due to adsorption of molecules from the surrounding atmosphere. This hypothesis is further confirmed by nanoscopic observations obtained by atomic force microscope (AFM)-based force spectroscopy, which monitor the evolution of surface properties with a spatial resolution superior to macroscopic experiments. Moreover, we observe that the results of macro- and nanoscale measurements evolve in similar fashion with time and we propose a quantitative correlation between SCA and AFM measurements. Our results suggest that the cause of the transition in the wettability of HOPG is due to the adsorption of hydrocarbon contaminations and water molecules from the environment. This is corroborated by annealing the HOPG is vacuum conditions at 150°, allowing the desorption of molecules on the surface, and thus re-establishing the initial macro and nano surface properties. Our findings can be used in the interpretation of the wettability of more complicated systems derived from HOPG (i.e., graphene).

Free-electron laser induced processes in thin molecular ice

Intermolecular reactions in and on icy films on silicate and carbonaceous grains constitute a major route for the formation of new molecular constituents in interstellar molecular clouds. In more diffuse regions and in protoplanetary discs, energetic radiation can trigger reaction routes far from thermal equilibrium. As an analog of interstellar ice-covered dust grains, highly-oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) covered with D2O, NO, and H atoms is irradiated by ultrashort XUV pulses and the desorbing ionic and neutral products are analysed. The yields of several products show a nonlinear intensity dependence and thus enable the elucidation of reaction dynamics by two-pulse correlated desorption.

Desorption of ionic species from ice/graphite by femtosecond XUV free-electron laser pulses

We report results of laser desorption from water ice surfaces using XUV pulses from the free-electron laser in Hamburg (FLASH). This XUV to soft x-ray FEL provides femtosecond pulses at 20-200 eV photon energy with pulse energies up to 100 µJ. The interaction of this intense soft x-ray radiation with ice (H2O, D2O) adsorbed on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) yields the desorption of various ions, particularly H (+) (D (+) ), O (+) , O2 (+) and others. For H (+) and O (+) ions linear desorption yields are observed, while for O2 (+) a highly nonlinear desorption yield with n = (2.5 ± 0.2) is found. Kinetic energies of 1.8 eV, 559 meV and 390 meV for H (+) , O (+) , and O2 (+) , respectively, account for only a small part of the available excess energy.

Molecular-dynamics study of photodissociation of water in crystalline and amorphous ices

We present the results of classical dynamics calculations performed to study the photodissociation of water in crystalline and amorphous ice surfaces at a surface temperature of 10 K. A modified form of a recently developed potential model for the photodissociation of a water molecule in ice [S. Andersson et al., Chem. Phys. Lett. 408, 415 (2005)] is used. Dissociation in the top six monolayers is considered. Desorption of H(2)O has a low probability (less than 0.5% yield per absorbed photon) for both types of ice. The final outcome strongly depends on the original position of the photodissociated molecule. For molecules in the first bilayer of crystalline ice and the corresponding layers in amorphous ice, desorption of H atoms dominates. In the second bilayer H atom desorption, trapping of the H and OH fragments in the ice, and recombination of H and OH are of roughly equal importance. Deeper into the ice H atom desorption becomes less important and trapping and recombination dominate. Motion of the photofragments is somewhat more restricted in amorphous ice. The distribution of distances traveled by H atoms in the ice peaks at 6-7 Angstroms with a tail going to about 60 Angstroms for both types of ice. The mobility of OH radicals is low within the ice with most probable distances traveled of 2 and 1 Angstrom for crystalline and amorphous ices, respectively. OH is, however, quite mobile on top of the surface, where it has been found to travel more than 80 Angstroms. Simulated absorption spectra of crystalline ice, amorphous ice, and liquid water are found to be in very good agreement with the experiments. The outcomes of photodissociation in crystalline and amorphous ices are overall similar, but with some intriguing differences in detail. The probability of H atoms desorbing is 40% higher from amorphous than from crystalline ice and the kinetic-energy distribution of the H atoms is on average 30% hotter for amorphous ice. In contrast, the probability of desorption of OH radicals from crystalline ice is much higher than that from amorphous ice.

Hydrogen atom formation from the photodissociation of water ice at 193 nm

The TOF spectra of photofragment hydrogen atoms from the 193 nm photodissociation of amorphous ice at 90-140 K have been measured. The spectra consist of both a fast and a slow components that are characterized by average translational energies of 2k(B)T(trans)=0.39+/-0.04 eV (2300+/-200 K) and 0.02 eV (120+/-20 K), respectively. The incident laser power dependency of the hydrogen atom production suggests one-photon process. The electronic excitation energy of a branched cluster, (H(2)O)(6+1), has been theoretically calculated, where (H(2)O)(6+1) is a (H(2)O)(6) cyclic cluster attached by a water molecule with the hydrogen bond. The photoabsorption of this branched cluster is expected to appear at around 200 nm. The source of the hydrogen atoms is attributed to the photodissociation of the ice surface that is attached by water molecules with the hydrogen bond. Atmospheric implications are estimated for the photodissociation of the ice particles (Noctilucent clouds) at 190-230 nm in the region between 80 and 85 km altitude.