Dynamics of collision-induced desorption: Ar–Xe/Pt(111)

We have performed a detailed study of collision-induced desorption (CID) of Xe from Pt(111) by hyperthermal Ar atoms striking the surface. The study combines extensive molecular beam experiments with detailed molecular dynamics calculations in an effort to quantify fully and to understand in detail the dynamics of this model system. The calculations employ accurate semi-empirical potential energy functions for all relevant interatomic interactions. We have characterized the CID process with respect to incidence energy, Ei, angle, θi, and substrate surface temperature, Ts, for both the isolated adsorbate and the Xe/Pt(111) monolayer. The generally good agreement of the calculated results such as the desorption yield and desorbate energy and angular distributions with the experimental measurements demonstrates that the calculations capture the most important aspects of the CID processes.