Formation of C$_{18}$H and C$_{18}$H$_2$ molecules by low energy irradiation with atomic and molecular hydrogen

Abstract

We study the formation of C$_{18}$H and C$_{18}$H$_2$ by irradiating a cyclo[$18$]carbon molecule with atomic and molecular hydrogen at impact energy, $E$, in the range of 0.5-25 eV. We utilize the density-functional tight-binding method to perform molecular dynamics simulations to emulate the interaction of a carbon ring when colliding with atomic or molecular hydrogen. From our results, the formation of the C$_{18}$H molecules is likely to occur upon irradiating by H atoms at $E < 10$ eV and by H$_2$ molecules at $2 < E < 15$ eV center of mass energy. Formation of C$_{18}$H$_2$ molecules is only observed at around $E = 2$ eV. Our results show that the absorption of hydrogen is more prone in atomic than in molecular hydrogen atmosphere. Thus, we find that the probability of physio-absorption reaches up to 80 \% for atomic projectiles with $E < 5$ eV but only up to 10 \% for the molecular ones. Our analysis shows that the deformation of the carbon ring due to the hydrogen bonding produces transition from $sp$ to $sp^2$ hybridization. The angle between the carbon atoms at the locations near to the H bond in the resulting ring is not 120$^o$ but instead 110$^o$ degrees. No molecular fragmentation of the C$_{18}$ ring is observed.