2011 Volume 9 Pages 1-5
Thermal and femtosecond-laser-assisted desorption of hydrogen (H) and deuterium (D) from a graphene flake were investigated by performing ab initio electron—ion dynamics simulations. In thermal desorption, the isotope effect appears only in the desorption velocity of H and D atoms. In contrast, the isotope effect is pronounced in laser-assisted desorption. H atoms are desorbed but D atoms remain adsorbed when irradiated by a laser pulse with a certain power and frequency. The reason is that the laser pulse excites electronic states that critically modify the forces on H (D) atoms and carbon (C) atoms to which H (D) atoms are bound. The present simulation predicts that it is possible to precisely control the desorbing species by tuning the laser parameters. [DOI: 10.1380/ejssnt.2011.1]
