title: Preference for vibrational over translational energy in a gas-surface reaction.
abstract: State-resolved gas-surface reactivity measurements revealed that vibrational excitation of nu3 (the antisymmetric C-H stretch) activates methane dissociation more efficiently than does translational energy. Methane molecules in the vibrational ground state require 45 kilojoules per mole (kJ/mol) of translational energy to attain the same reactivity enhancement provided by 36 kJ/mol of nu3 excitation. This result contradicts a key assumption underlying statistical theories of gas-surface reactivity and provides direct experimental evidence of the central role that vibrational energy can play in activating gas-surface reactions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and W. M. Keck Foundation Laboratory for Materials Chemistry, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155, USA.
authors.forename: R R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Killelea
authors.forename: D F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: DelSesto
authors.forename: A L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Utz