Dissociative Grazing Scattering of H2+ Ions from Metal Surfaces†

Energy distributions of H atoms resulting from grazing scattering of H2+ from metal surfaces are calculated analytically and by using classical trajectories simulations. The main mechanism leading to dissociation of H2+ is proposed to be dissociative capture of an electron from the metal into the antibonding state of the H2 molecule. It is shown that the energy distributions of scattered atoms yield information of both the molecular axis orientation and the vibrational excitation of the molecules during the scattering process. 1