Title

Ultrafast dynamics of   adsorbates on metals: Insights from theory

Reporter

Prof. Maite Alducin

Reporter’s   institution

Donostia International   Physics Center, Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain

Report time

2019-05-21 15:00:00

Report location

Science and Technology Exhibition Hall on   the 1st floor of Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the   Microscale

Organizer

Hefei National Laboratory for Physical   Sciences at the Microscale, International Center for Chemical Theory (ICCT)

Report introduction

Abstract:

Femtosecond   laser pulses in the ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared are very   efficient in promoting reactions at metal surfaces that cannot be initiated   by thermal activation [1,2]. In pump-probe time-resolved vibrational   spectroscopy, the femtosecond laser pulse (the pump) is combined with an IR   pulse (the probe) in an attempt to time-resolve the initial dynamics of the   adsorbate by recording the frequency and linewidth changes of its IR-active   mode [3,4]. However, the experiments alone cannot provide a precise   understanding of the mechanisms responsible for the initial adsorbate   dynamics and subsequent evolution, including diffusion, desorption, and   reactions. In this talk, a selection of our more recent theoretical studies   on prototypical adsorbate-surface systems will be discussed. By combining a   two-temperature model either with a Langevin dynamics that can eventually be   coupled to the excited surface lattice [5,6] or with first-principles   many-body perturbation theory [7,8], the challenge is to understand what   factors will rule and compete in the transient adsorbate dynamics: the   laser-induced hot electrons, the substrate hot phonons, the intermode   coupling induced by the hot electrons, or in the case of large coverages the   likely interadsorbate energy exchange.

References

[1]   C. Frischkorn and M.Wolf, Chem. Rev., 106 (2006) 4207

[2]   P. Saalfrank, Chem. Rev., 106 (2006) 4116

[3]   H. Arnolds and M. Bonn, Surf. Sci. Rep. 65, 45 (2010)

[4]   K.-i. Inoue, et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 117, 186101 (2016)

[5]   I. Lonari, M. Alducin, P. Saalfrank, and J.I. Juaristi, Phys. Rev. B,   93,014301 (2016)

[6]   J. I. Juaristi, M. Alducin, and P. Saalfrank, Phys. Rev. B 95, 125439 (2017)

[7]   D. Novko, M. Alducin, and J.I Juaristi, Phys. Rev. Lett. 120, 156804 (2018)

[8]   D. Novko, et al., Phys. Rev. Lett.122, 016806 (2019)

Biosketch:

Prof.   Maite Alducin studied Physics at Complutense University of Madrid (Spain) in   1988, and received her Ph. D degree of Physics from Universidad del País   Vasco / Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (UPV/EHU) in 1994. After several   postdoc periods, she became an Assistant Professor in the Engineering   department at ‘E.T.S. de Ingenieros Industriales de Bilbao’ (UPV/EHU). In   2003, she joined Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC) as a Fellow   Gipuzkoa. Since 2007, she became a tenured CSIC researcher in the joint   Centro de Física de Materiales (CFM) of UPV/EHU and Spanish Research Council,   in Donostia-San Sebastián. Her main fields of research are condensed matter   theory and chemical physics, in particular the theory of electronic   excitations in metallic systems. She is well-known for her work on the theory   of electronic excitations in solids and surfaces, as well as in the theory of   electron-phonon coupling of adsorbates on metal surfaces. She has published   more than 100 scientific articles, including Physical Review Letters (13),   Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters (4), Progress in Surface Science (1)   and so on.