Laser induced gas-surface reaction of Cl2 supersonic molecular beam with a nickel surface

The supersonic molecular beam technique is used to study the dynamics of laser-induced reaction of Cl2 with a Ni surface irradiated by 355 nm and 1064 nm laser photons. The mass and velocity distribution of reaction products are measured by time-resolved mass spectrometry. Results show that the genuine products generated by the irradiation at 355 nm are NiCl and NiCl2, while only NiCl2 is identified at 1064 nm. The reaction yield can be enhanced by increasing the translational energy of incident Cl2 molecules and the laser fluence. The possible mechanisms for the laser-induced Cl2Ni surface reaction at different laser wavelengths are discussed.