Vibrational temperature of the adlayer in the 'hot-atom' reaction mechanism

► “Hot-adatom” reactions are described by nonequilibrium statistical thermodynamics. ► The vibrational temperature and the entropy of the adatoms are estimated. ► The reaction rate at steady state depends exponentially on vibrational temperature. ► The energy distribution function of the adatoms are modeled by a kinetic approach. ► The adlayer is subjected to kinetic transition depending on the energy dissipation.