Dissociative chemisorption of CH4 on W(110): Dramatic activation by initial kinetic energy

The initial dissociative chemisorption probability of CH4 on a W(110) surface is found to increase by 105 on raising of the CH4 incident translational energy, reaching a value of 0.2 at 100 kJ/mole. This is by far the largest such effect (by 103) reported to date and is consistent with a mechanism dominated by quantum tunneling, a conclusion further supported by measurements for CD4. © 1985 The American Physical Society.