Quantum filtering of hydrogen isotopes through graphene

Abstract

Driven by the growing demand in the energy, medical, and industrial sectors, we investigate a hydrogen isotope separation technique that offers both a high separation factor and economic feasibility. Our findings reveal that filtering isotopes through two-dimensional graphene layers provides an exceptionally efficient quantum-mechanical method for isotope separation. Using a recently developed analytical pairwise potential between hydrogen isotopes and carbon atoms in graphene, we examine the classical trajectories of isotopes near the graphene layer, as well as the quantum-mechanical tunneling properties of isotopes through the graphene layer. Using various quantum-mechanical methods, we calculate both the isotope tunneling probabilities and the quantum-mechanical isotope sticking probabilities. Our study shows that quantum filtering through graphene layers can be an effective technique for enriching deuterium by separating it from protium.