Direct charge ejection for chemical electric generation

A particular type of surface chemical reaction resulted in direct charge ejection. Several different experimental observations strongly support the hypothesis that nearly all of the molecular kinetic energy of a highly excited vibrating molecule was transferred to the kinetic energy of a single electron in a conducting lattice, leaving the molecule in nearly its ground state. This kinetic energy transfer represents the counterpart to the potential energy transfer in a battery, where electrochemical potential energy of reactants is transferred to the electrical potential energy of a separated charge. Here chemical reaction energy is transferred directly to the kinetic energy of a charge instead of to the potential energy of a charge. These observations indicate a breakdown of the Born Oppenheimer approximation.