State resolved inelastic scattering of N2 from Ru(0001)

On-surface chemical dynamics of monolayer, bilayer, and many-layered graphene surfaces probed with supersonic beam scattering and STM imaging

We have developed the capability to elucidate interfacial reaction dynamics using an arguably unique combination of supersonic molecular beams combined with in situ STM visualization. These capabilities have been implemented in order to reveal the complex spatiotemporal correlations that govern the oxidation of graphitic systems spanning atomic-, nano-, and meso-length scales. In this study, the 3 nm periodic moiré pattern of monolayer and bilayer graphene on Ru(0001) provides a diverse palette of potential scattering and binding sites at the interface for ground state atomic oxygen. We resolve the site-specificity of atomic oxygen placement on the moiré lattice for both monolayer and bilayer graphene on Ru(0001) with atomic resolution. Angle- and energy-controlled scattering of O(3P) on these interfaces reveals an incisive side-by-side comparison of preferential reactivity of the monolayer surface compared to a more free-standing bilayer graphene ruthenium interface. Morphologically dependent reactivity of many layered graphene (HOPG) and monolayer graphene on Ru(0001) reveal anisotropic on-surface reactivity dependent on the presence of proximal reacted sites or local regions. The kinetics of on-surface oxidation are additionally shown to influence the morphology of surface products by varying the temperature of the interface and flux of reactant species. Such correlations are important in chemisorption, catalysis, materials oxidation and erosion, and film processing-and tunable moiré templated adsorption is a route to well-ordered self-assembled 2D materials for use in next-generation platforms for quantum devices and catalysis. Taken together, these results highlight a new direction in the examination of interfacial reaction dynamics where incident beam kinetic energy and angle of incidence can be used as reaction control parameters, with outcomes such as site-specific reactivity, changes for overall time-evolving mechanisms, and the relative importance of non-adiabatic channels in adsorption all linked to the on-surface fate of chemisorbed species.

STM Visualization of N2 Dissociative Chemisorption on Ru(0001) at High Impinging Kinetic Energies

This paper examines the reactive surface dynamics of energy- and angle-selected N₂ dissociation on a clean Ru(0001) surface. Presented herein are the first STM images of highly energetic N₂ dissociation on terrace sites utilizing a novel UHV instrument that combines a supersonic molecular beam with an in situ STM that is in-line with the molecular beam. Atomically resolved visualization of individual N₂ dissociation events elucidates the fundamental reactive dynamics of the N₂/Ru(0001) system by providing a detailed understanding of the on-surface dissociation dynamics: the distance and angle between nitrogen atoms from the same dissociated N₂ molecule, site specificity and coordination of binding on terrace sites, and the local evolution of surrounding nanoscopic areas. These properties are precisely measured over a range of impinging N₂ kinetic energies and angles, revealing previously unattainable information about the energy dissipation channels that govern the reactivity of the system. The experimental results presented in this paper provide insight into the fundamental N₂ dissociation mechanism that, in conjunction with ongoing theoretical modeling, will help determine the role of dynamical processes such as energy transfer to surface phonons and nonadiabatic excitation of electron-hole pairs (ehps). These results will not only help uncover the underlying chemistry and physics that give rise to the unique behavior of this activated dissociative chemisorption system but also represent an exciting approach to studying reaction dynamics by pairing the angstrom-level spatiotemporal resolution of an in situ STM with nonequilibrium fluxes of reactive gases generated in a supersonic molecular beam to access highly activated chemical dynamics and observe the results of individual reaction events.

Computational approaches to dissociative chemisorption on metals: towards chemical accuracy

We review the state-of-the-art in the theory of dissociative chemisorption (DC) of small gas phase molecules on metal surfaces, which is important to modeling heterogeneous catalysis for practical reasons, and for achieving an understanding of the wealth of experimental information that exists for this topic, for fundamental reasons. We first give a quick overview of the experimental state of the field. Turning to the theory, we address the challenge that barrier heights (E_b, which are not observables) for DC on metals cannot yet be calculated with chemical accuracy, although embedded correlated wave function theory and diffusion Monte-Carlo are moving in this direction. For benchmarking, at present chemically accurate E_b can only be derived from dynamics calculations based on a semi-empirically derived density functional (DF), by computing a sticking curve and demonstrating that it is shifted from the curve measured in a supersonic beam experiment by no more than 1 kcal mol^-1. The approach capable of delivering this accuracy is called the specific reaction parameter (SRP) approach to density functional theory (DFT). SRP-DFT relies on DFT and on dynamics calculations, which are most efficiently performed if a potential energy surface (PES) is available. We therefore present a brief review of the DFs that now exist, also considering their performance on databases for E_b for gas phase reactions and DC on metals, and for adsorption to metals. We also consider expressions for SRP-DFs and briefly discuss other electronic structure methods that have addressed the interaction of molecules with metal surfaces. An overview is presented of dynamical models, which make a distinction as to whether or not, and which dissipative channels are modeled, the dissipative channels being surface phonons and electronically non-adiabatic channels such as electron-hole pair excitation. We also discuss the dynamical methods that have been used, such as the quasi-classical trajectory method and quantum dynamical methods like the time-dependent wave packet method and the reaction path Hamiltonian method. Limits on the accuracy of these methods are discussed for DC of diatomic and polyatomic molecules on metal surfaces, paying particular attention to reduced dimensionality approximations that still have to be invoked in wave packet calculations on polyatomic molecules like CH₄. We also address the accuracy of fitting methods, such as recent machine learning methods (like neural network methods) and the corrugation reducing procedure. In discussing the calculation of observables we emphasize the importance of modeling the properties of the supersonic beams in simulating the sticking probability curves measured in the associated experiments. We show that chemically accurate barrier heights have now been extracted for DC in 11 molecule-metal surface systems, some of which form the most accurate core of the only existing database of E_b for DC reactions on metal surfaces (SBH10). The SRP-DFs (or candidate SRP-DFs) that have been derived show transferability in many cases, i.e., they have been shown also to yield chemically accurate E_b for chemically related systems. This can in principle be exploited in simulating rates of catalyzed reactions on nano-particles containing facets and edges, as SRP-DFs may be transferable among systems in which a molecule dissociates on low index and stepped surfaces of the same metal. In many instances SRP-DFs have allowed important conclusions regarding the mechanisms underlying observed experimental trends. An important recent observation is that SRP-DFT based on semi-local exchange DFs has so far only been successful for systems for which the difference of the metal work function and the molecule's electron affinity exceeds 7 eV. A main challenge to SRP-DFT is to extend its applicability to the other systems, which involve a range of important DC reactions of e.g. O₂, H₂O, NH₃, CO₂, and CH₃OH. Recent calculations employing a PES based on a screened hybrid exchange functional suggest that the road to success may be based on using exchange functionals of this category.

Orbital-Dependent Electronic Friction Significantly Affects the Description of Reactive Scattering of N2 from Ru(0001)

Electron-hole pair (ehp) excitation is thought to substantially affect the dynamics of molecules on metal surfaces, but it is not clear whether this can be better addressed by orbital-dependent friction (ODF) or the local density friction approximation (LDFA). We investigate the effect of ehp excitation on the dissociative chemisorption of N2 on and its inelastic scattering from Ru(0001), which is the benchmark system of highly activated dissociation, with these two different models. ODF is in better agreement with the best experimental estimates for the reaction probabilities than LDFA, yields results for vibrational excitation in better agreement with experiment, but slightly overestimates the translational energy loss during scattering. N2 on Ru(0001) is thus the first system for which the ODF and LDFA approaches are shown to yield substantially different results for easily accessible experimental observables, including reaction probabilities.

Analysis of Energy Dissipation Channels in a Benchmark System of Activated Dissociation: N2 on Ru(0001)

The excitation of electron-hole pairs in reactive scattering of molecules at metal surfaces often affects the physical and dynamical observables of interest, including the reaction probability. Here, we study the influence of electron-hole pair excitation on the dissociative chemisorption of N2 on Ru(0001) using the local density friction approximation method. The effect of surface atom motion has also been taken into account by a high-dimensional neural network potential. Our nonadiabatic molecular dynamics simulations with electronic friction show that the reaction of N2 is more strongly affected by the energy transfer to surface phonons than by the energy loss to electron-hole pairs. The discrepancy between the computed reaction probabilities and experimental results is within the experimental error both with and without friction; however, the incorporation of electron-hole pairs yields somewhat better agreement with experiments, especially at high collision energies. We also calculate the vibrational efficacy for the N2 + Ru(0001) reaction and demonstrate that the N2 reaction is more enhanced by exciting the molecular vibrations than by adding an equivalent amount of energy into translation.

Towards chemically accurate simulation of molecule-surface reactions

This perspective addresses four challenges facing theorists whose aim is to make quantitatively accurate predictions for reactions of molecules on metal surfaces, and suggests ways of meeting these challenges, focusing on dissociative chemisorption reactions of H(2), N(2), and CH(4). Addressing these challenges is ultimately of practical importance to a more accurate description of overall heterogeneously catalysed reactions, which play a role in the production of more than 90% of man-made chemicals. One challenge is to describe the interaction of a molecule with a metal surface with chemical accuracy, i.e., with errors in reaction barrier heights less than 1 kcal mol(-1). In this framework, the potential of a new implementation of specific reaction parameter density functional theory (SRP-DFT) will be discussed, with emphasis on applications to reaction of H(2) with metal surfaces. Two additional challenges are to come up with improved descriptions of the effects of phonons and electron-hole pairs on reaction of molecules like N(2) on metal surfaces. Phonons can be tackled using sudden approximations in quantum dynamics, and through Ab Initio Molecular Dynamics (AIMD) calculations using classical dynamics. To additionally achieve an accurate description of the effect of electron-hole pair excitation on dissociative chemisorption within a classical dynamics framework, it may be possible to combine AIMD with electronic friction. The fourth challenge we will consider is how to achieve an accurate quantum mechanical description of the dissociative chemisorption of a polyatomic molecule, like methane, on a metal surface. A method of potential interest is the Multi-Configuration Time-Dependent Hartree (MCTDH) method.

Efficient vibrational and translational excitations of a solid metal surface: State-to-state time-of-flight measurements of HCl(v=2,J=1) scattering from Au(111)

We report high resolution state-to-state time-of-flight (TOF) measurements for scattering of HCl(v=2, J=1) from a Au(111) single crystal surface for both vibrationally elastic (v=2-->2) as well as inelastic (v=2-->1) channels at seven incidence energies between 0.28 and 1.27 eV. The dependences of the TOF results on final HCl rotational state and surface temperature are also reported. The translational energy transferred to the surface depends linearly on incidence energy and is close to the single surface-atom impulse (Baule) limit over the entire range of incidence energies studied. The probability of vibrational relaxation is also large. For molecules that relax from v=2 to v=1, the fraction of vibrational energy that is transferred to the surface is approximately 74%. We discuss these observations in terms of an impulse approximation as well as the possible role of translational and vibrational excitations of electron-hole pairs in the solid.

Reactive and nonreactive scattering of N2 from Ru(0001): a six-dimensional adiabatic study

We have studied the dissociative chemisorption and scattering of N(2) on and from Ru(0001), using a six-dimensional quasiclassical trajectory method. The potential energy surface, which depends on all the molecular degrees of freedom, has been built applying a modified Shepard interpolation method to a data set of results from density functional theory, employing the RPBE generalized gradient approximation. The frozen surface and Born-Oppenheimer [Ann. Phys. (Leipzig) 84, 457 (1927)] approximations were used, neglecting phonons and electron-hole pair excitations. Dissociative chemisorption probabilities are found to be very small even for translational energies much higher than the minimum reaction barrier, in good agreement with experiment. A comparison to previous low dimensional calculations shows the importance of taking into account the multidimensional effects of N(2) rotation and translation parallel to the surface. The new calculations strongly suggest a much smaller role of nonadiabatic effects than previously assumed on the basis of a comparison between low dimensional results and experiments [J. Chem. Phys. 115, 9028 (2001)]. Also in agreement with experiment, our theoretical results show a strong dependence of reaction on the initial vibrational state. Computed angular scattering distributions and parallel translation energy distributions are in good agreement with experiments on scattering, but the theory overestimates vibrational and rotational excitations in scattering.

Calculations of scattering of N2 molecules from Ru(0001)

Recent experimental measurements of state resolved scattering of nitrogen molecules from a Ru(0001) surface are discussed in comparison with a mixed quantum-classical theory that has given reasonable explanations for similar data on other systems. Acceptable agreement between data and calculations is obtained, but only upon assuming an effective mass of the surface equal to 2.3 times the mass of a single Ru atom.

Translational to rotational energy transfer in molecule-surface collisions

A theoretical approach that combines classical mechanics for treating translational and rotational degrees of freedom and quantum mechanics for describing the excitation of internal molecular modes is applied to the scattering of diatomic molecules from metal surfaces. Calculations are carried out for determining the extent of energy transfer to the rotational degrees of freedom of the projectile molecule. For the case of observed spectra of intensity versus final rotational energy, quantitative agreement with available experimental data for the scattering of NO and N(2) from close packed metal surfaces is obtained. It is shown that such measurements can be used to determine the average rotational energy of the incident molecular beam. Measurements of the exchange of energy between translational and rotational degrees of freedom upon collision are also described by calculations for these same systems.

Multidimensional effects on dissociation of N2 on Ru(0001)

The applicability of the Born-Oppenheimer approximation to molecule-metal surface reactions is presently a topic of intense debate. We have performed classical trajectory calculations on a prototype activated dissociation reaction, of N2 on Ru(0001), using a potential energy surface based on density functional theory. The computed reaction probabilities are in good agreement with molecular beam experiments. Comparison to previous calculations shows that the rotation of N2 and its motion along the surface affect the reactivity of N2 much more than nonadiabatic effects.

Rainbow scattering of CO and N2 from LiF(001)

The angular intensity distributions of CO and N(2) molecules scattered from a LiF(001) surface have been measured as functions of surface temperature, incident translational energy, and incident azimuthal direction affecting surface corrugation at a high resolution. Although both molecules have the same molecular mass and linear structure, only the CO molecule shows a rainbow feature in its scattering pattern, while the N(2) molecule shows a single peak distribution. From the comparisons of the obtained results with the calculated predictions based on the newly developed classical theory of the ellipsoid-washboard model, the differences in scattering distribution are attributed to the effects of molecular anisotropy and center-of-mass position. With an increase in the extent of the molecular anisotropy such as that of N(2) and CO as compared with rare-gas atoms, the summation of several scattering distributions depending on molecular orientation results in smearing the rainbow scattering on the corrugated surface. This smearing effect, however, attenuates when center-of-mass position deviates from the molecular center, as that for CO.

The reaction rate for dissociative adsorption of N2 on stepped Ru(0001): Six-dimensional quantum calculations

Quantum-mechanical calculations of the reaction rate for dissociative adsorption of N2 on stepped Ru(0001) are presented. Converged six-dimensional quantum calculations for this heavy-atom reaction have been performed using the multiconfiguration time-dependent Hartree method. A potential-energy surface for the transition-state region is constructed from density-functional theory calculations using Shepard interpolation. The quantum results are in very good agreement with the results of the harmonic transition-state theory. In contrast to the findings of previous model calculations on similar systems, the tunneling effect is found to be small.

Scattering of O2 from AL111

Experimental results are presented for the scattering of well-defined beams of molecular oxygen incident on clean Al(111). The data consist of scattered angular distributions measured as a function of incident angle, and for fixed incident angle, the dependence on surface temperature of the angular distributions. The measurements are interpreted in terms of a scattering theory that treats the exchange of energy between the translational and rotational motions of the molecule and the phonons of the surface using classical dynamics. The dependence of the measured angular distributions on incident beam angle and temperature is well explained by the theory. Rotational excitation and quantum excitation of the O(2) internal stretching mode are briefly discussed.