A Photolysis Study of Pure CH4 and CO Ices

Details A Photolysis Study of Pure CH4 and CO Ices A Photolysis Study of Pure CH4 and CO Ices

Oct 2007

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2007dps....39.3805w&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, DPS meeting #39, #38.05; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 39, p.490

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Scientific paper

Laboratory simulation studies on VUV photolysis of molecular ices relevant to the cometary-type ices and icy satellites of planetary systems have been obtained. Specifically, we identify the types of molecules that are produced in a given ice sample, quantify their production and destruction yields, understand their production mechanisms, and ascertain their significance in astronomical environments.
In this work we have carried out VUV photolysis of pure CH4 and CO ices at 10 K by employing a narrow bandwidth (fwhm = 1.1 nm) synchrotron radiation light source available at the National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center, Hsinchu, Taiwan. The VUV photon wavelengths were selected from the absorption onsets of the given ice molecules in the FUV to 100 nm, which includes the HI 121.6 nm. The FTIR spectroscopic technique was used in the present study.
In the photolyzed CH4 ice samples we have identified IR absorption features, which are attributable to products of radicals (CH2, CH3, C2H5) and light hydrocarbons (C2H2, C2H4, C2H6, C3H8). However, with a mixture of H2O in the CH4 ices the products observed are mainly the CO, CO2, and H2CO. Evidently the radicals are effectively converted into oxides.
Chemicals produced were found to be primarily suboxides (C3O2, C2O, CO2, and CO3) in the photolysis study of pure CO ices. The most likely reaction mechanism can be attributed to the production of metastable CO, which subsequently reacts with other metastable or excited CO ice molecules to produce suboxides. The results of the present work show that the production and destruction yields correlate with electronic states. That is, these yields depend on photon energy.
The intriguing photochemistry of ices deserves careful investigations in order to improve our understanding of chemical evolution in cosmic environments. Detailed results will be presented. This work has been partially supported by NSF.

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