On the role of electron-hole pair excitation in the kinetics of atom recombination at metal surfaces

The dynamics of energy relaxation of the adspecies in exoergic processes at metal surfaces has been modeled by means of the master equation approach. The effect of energy disposal to the solid via electron-hole (e-h) pair excitation on the rate of adatom recombination, has been investigated in the case of a discrete set of vibrational levels of the adspecies. The kinetics is solved, analytically, for two recombination channels and by taking into account two energy dissipation pathways of the adspecies. It is shown that dissipation pathways, characterized by a sizable energy transfer per scattering event, affect the kinetics leading to enhanced recombination rates. The kinetic model has been applied to describe experimental data on H(D)-adatom abstraction and recombination at metal surfaces. The rate coefficient of the process is shown to be proportional to the energy power transferred to the solid, owing to the reaction exothermicity, and correlates to the surface electron density.