Chemical sputtering of carbon by H, D, and T impact

We study the behavior of chemical sputtering yields of hydrogenated carbon due to bombardment by hydrogen isotopes H, D, and T at energies of 1–30 eV. We perform classical molecular dynamics simulations on surfaces that become saturated by cumulative bombardment by each projectile species. We show that the chemistry at the interface is not too sensitive to the mass of the impinging atoms. However the sputtering yields increase considerably for increasing projectile mass due to the larger energy transfer per collision.