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Temperature dependent stereodynamics in surface scattering measured through subtle changes in the molecular wave function

Helen Chadwick Orcid Logo, Gil Alexandrowicz Orcid Logo

Faraday Discussions

Swansea University Authors: Helen Chadwick Orcid Logo, Gil Alexandrowicz Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.1039/d4fd00007b

Abstract

A magnetically manipulated molecular beam technique is used to change the rotational orientation of H2 molecules which collide with a stepped Cu(511) surface and explore how the polarisation dependence of molecules scattering into the specular channel changes as a function of surface temperature. At...

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Published in: Faraday Discussions
ISSN: 1359-6640 1364-5498
Published: Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) 2024
Online Access: Check full text

URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa65800
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Abstract: A magnetically manipulated molecular beam technique is used to change the rotational orientation of H2 molecules which collide with a stepped Cu(511) surface and explore how the polarisation dependence of molecules scattering into the specular channel changes as a function of surface temperature. At all temperatures, H2 molecules that are rotating like cartwheels are more likely to be scattered into the specular channel than those that are rotating like helicopters. Furthermore, the scattered molecules are more likely to be rotating like cartwheels, regardless of their state before the collision. Increasing the temperature of the Cu(511) surface causes the polarisation effects to become stronger, with the scattering becoming more selective for H2 with cartwheel like rotation. Therefore, scattering a molecular beam of H2 from a Cu(511) surface and taking the molecules scattered into the specular channel provides a method to create a rotationally polarised beam of H2, where the polarisation can be tuned by changing the surface temperature. In contrast, the rotational orientation dependence observed for specular scattering from a flat Cu(111) surface is independent of surface temperature within the same temperature range.
College: Faculty of Science and Engineering
Funders: ERC consolidator grant (Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme Grant Number 772228) EPSRC New Horizons grant (EP/V048589/1) EPSRC standard grant (EP/X037886/1) Support from the Supercomputing Wales project, which is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) via Welsh Government.