Quantum tunneling of hydrogen atom transfer affects mandrel degradation in inertial confinement fusion target fabrication

Yu Zhu; Xinrui Yang; Famin Yu; Rui Wang; Qiang Chen; Zhanwen Zhang; Zhigang Wang

doi:10.1016/j.isci.2021.103674

Quantum tunneling of hydrogen atom transfer affects mandrel degradation in inertial confinement fusion target fabrication

iScience. 2021 Dec 20;25(1):103674. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2021.103674. eCollection 2022 Jan 21.

Authors

Yu Zhu¹, Xinrui Yang¹, Famin Yu¹, Rui Wang¹, Qiang Chen², Zhanwen Zhang², Zhigang Wang¹

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Atomic and Molecular Physics, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China.
² Laser Fusion Research Center, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang 621900, China.

Abstract

Poly-α-methylstyrene (PAMS) is considered as the preferred mandrel material, whose degradation is crucial for the fabrication of high-quality inertial confinement fusion (ICF) targets. Herein, we reveal that hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) during PAMS degradation, which is usually attributed to the thermal effect, unexpectedly exhibits a strong high-temperature tunneling effect. Specifically, although the energy barrier of the HAT reaction is only 10^-2 magnitude different from depolymerization, the tunneling probability of the former can be 14-32 orders of magnitude greater than that of the latter. Furthermore, chain scission following HAT will lead to a variety of products other than monomers. Our work highlights that quantum tunneling may be an important source of uncertainty in PAMS degradation, which will provide a direction for the further development of key technology of target fabricating in ICF research and even the solution of plastic pollution.

Keywords: Nanotechnology fabrication; Quantum physics; Theoretical physics.