Interactions of incident H atoms with metal surfaces

Atomic hydrogen is a highly reactive species of interest because of its role in a wide range of applications and technologies. Knowledge about the interactions of incident H atoms on metal surfaces is important for our understanding of many processes such as those occurring in plasma-enhanced catalysis and nuclear fusion in tokamak reactors. Herein we review some of the numerous experimental surface science studies that have focused on the interactions of H atoms that are incident on low-Miller index metal single-crystal surfaces. We briefly summarize the different incident H atom reaction mechanisms and several of the available methods to create H atoms in UHV environments before addressing the key thermodynamic and kinetic data available on metal and modified metal surfaces. Generally, H atoms are very reactive and exhibit high sticking coefficients even on metals where H₂ molecules do not dissociate under UHV conditions. This reactivity is often reduced by adsorbates on the surface, which also create new reaction pathways. Abstraction of surface-bound D(H) adatoms by incident H(D) atoms often occurs by an Eley-Rideal mechanism, while a hot atom mechanism produces structural effects in the abstraction rates and forms homonuclear products. Additionally, incident H atoms can often induce surface reconstructions and populate subsurface and bulk absorption sites. The absorbed H atoms recombine to desorb H₂ at lower temperature and can also exhibit higher subsequent reactivity with adsorbates than surface-bound H adatoms. Incident H atoms, either directly or via sorbed hydrogen species, hydrogenate adsorbed hydrocarbons, sulfur, alkali metals, oxygen, halogens, and other adatoms and small molecules. Thus, H atoms from the gas phase incident on surfaces and adsorbed layers create new reaction channels and products beyond those found from interactions of H₂ molecules. Detailed aspects of the dynamics and energy transfer associated with these interactions and the important applications of hydrogen in plasma processing of semiconductors are beyond the scope of this review.     

Ultrafast Extraction of Proteins from Tissues Using Desorption by Impulsive Vibrational Excitation

A picosecond IR laser (PIRL) can be used to blast proteins out of tissues through desorption by impulsive excitation (DIVE) of intramolecular vibrational states of water molecules in the cell in less than a millisecond. With PIRL‐DIVE proteins covering a range of a few kDa up to several MDa are extracted in high quantities compared to conventional approaches. The chemical composition of extracted proteins remains unaltered and even enzymatic activities are maintained.     

Pulsed Laval nozzle study of the kinetics of OH with unsaturated hydrocarbons at very low temperatures

The kinetics of reactions of the OH radical with ethene, ethyne (acetylene), propyne (methyl acetylene) and t-butyl-hydroperoxide were studied at temperatures of 69 and 86 K using laser flash-photolysis combined with laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy. A new pulsed Laval nozzle apparatus is used to provide the low-temperature thermalised environment at a single density of approximately 4x10(16) molecule cm(-3) in N2. The density and temperature within the flow are determined using measurements of impact pressure and rotational populations from laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy of NO and OH. For ethene, rate coefficients were determined to be k2=(3.22+/-0.46)x10(-11) and (2.12+/-0.12)x10(-11) cm3 molecule(-1) s(-1) at T=69 and 86 K, respectively, in good agreement with a master-equation calculation utilising an ab initio surface recently calculated for this reaction by Cleary et al. (P. A. Cleary, M. T. Baeza Romero, M. A. Blitz, D. E. Heard, M. J. Pilling, P. W. Seakins and L. Wang, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2006, 8, 5633-5642) For ethyne, no previous data exist below 210 K and a single measurement at 69 K was only able to provide an approximate upper limit for the rate coefficient of k3<1x10(-12) cm3 molecule(-1) s(-1), consistent with the presence of a small activation barrier of approximately 5 kJ mol(-1) between the reagents and the OH-C2H2 adduct. For propyne, there are no previous measurements below 253 K, and rate coefficients of k4=(5.08+/-0.65), (5.02+/-1.11) and (3.11+/-0.09)x10(-12) cm3 molecule(-1) s(-1) were obtained at T=69, 86 and 299 K, indicating a much weaker temperature dependence than for ethene. The rate coefficient k1=(7.8+/-2.5)x10(-11) cm3 molecule(-1) s(-1) was obtained for the reaction of OH with t-butyl-hydroperoxide at T=86 K. Studies of the reaction of OH with benzene and toluene yielded complex kinetic profiles of OH which did not allow the extraction of rate coefficients. Uncertainties are quoted at the 95% confidence limit and include systematic errors.