Title

Interaction of Atomic and Molecular Hydrogen with Tholin Surfaces at Low Temperatures

Author(s)/Creator(s)

Gianfranco Vidali, Department of Physics, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY
Ling Li, Syracuse University
Hui Zhao, Syracuse University

Document Type

Article

Date

10-7-2010

Keywords

TBD

Language

English

Disciplines

Physics

Description/Abstract

We study the interaction of atomic and molecular hydrogen with a surface of tholin, a man-made polymer considered to be an analogue of aerosol particles present in Titan's atmosphere, using thermal programmed desorption at low temperatures below 30 K. The results are fitted and analyzed using a fine-grained rate equation model that describes the diffusion, reaction and desorption processes. We obtain the energy barriers for diffusion and desorption of atomic and molecular hydrogen. These barriers are found to be in the range of 30 to 60 meV, indicating that atom/molecule-surface interactions in this temperature range are dominated by weak adsorption forces. The implications of these results for the understanding of the atmospheric chemistry of Titan are discussed.

Additional Information

30 pages, 11 figures More information at http://arxiv.org/abs/1010.1522

Listed authors are from Syracuse University. For additional authors, click "Download."

Recommended Citation

Vidali, Gianfranco; Li, Ling; and Zhao, Hui, "Interaction of Atomic and Molecular Hydrogen with Tholin Surfaces at Low Temperatures" (2010). Physics - All Scholarship. 503.
https://surface.syr.edu/phy/503

Source

Harvested from Arxiv.org

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.