Applicability of the Fridman–Macheret α‑Model to Heterogeneous Processes in the Case of Dissociative Adsorption of N2 on the Ru Surface

The efficacy of vibrational excitation for reaction promotion can be well-described by the Fridman–Macheret (F–M) α-model, which was initially developed for processes in the gas phase. However, it is widely used for analysis of the efficacy of vibrational excitation of heterogeneous processes, such as NH3 synthesis, reduction of CO2, and activation of CH4. For plasma-assisted heterogeneous processes, the contribution of species with high vibrational excitation into reaction is emphasized. The aim of this paper is to check the applicability of the F–M model for the case of activation of the N2 molecule on the Ru(113) and Ru(0001) surfaces using molecular dynamics with machine learning potential (MLP). The results show that the F–M model appears to be a reasonable approximation for estimate of vibrational efficacy of highly excited states (v ≥ 7) which are important under nonequilibrium plasma conditions.