Ab initio Description of Bond Breaking in Large Electric Fields

Abstract

Strong (1010 V/m) electric fields capable of inducing atomic bond breaking represent a powerful tool for surface chemistry. However, their exact effects are difficult to predict due to a lack of suitable tools to probe their associated atomic-scale mechanisms. Here we introduce a generalized dipole correction for charged repeated-slab models that controls the electric field on both sides of the slab, thereby enabling direct theoretical treatment of field-induced bond-breaking events. As a prototype application, we consider field evaporation from a kinked W surface. We reveal two qualitatively different desorption mechanisms that can be selected by the magnitude of the applied field.