Issue 36, 2010

Photochemistry of carbon monoxide and methanol in water and nitric acid hydrate ices: A NEXAFS study

Abstract

Soft X-ray induced chemistry of H2O, CO and CH3OH and the effects of the water and nitric acid hydrate (HNO3·1.65H2O) matrix on the photochemistry of CO and CH3OH have been investigated using NEXAFS spectroscopy. For pure H2O, CO and CH3OH ices, we show that the destruction rates are strongly limited by back reactions, leading to strikingly high survival rates of these molecules upon the harsh irradiation conditions to which they are submitted. We also evidence the interplay between the photochemical reactions of CO and CH3OH and those of the matrix. The OH and O radicals released by the photolysis of H2O and HNO3 react with the CO and CH3OH and their fragments, considerably reducing the survival rates compared to pure CO and pure CH3OH ices, especially in presence of nitric acid, and dramatically enhancing the formation of CO2 at the expense of CO. Because NEXAFS spectroscopy allows identifying which reactions are important among those possible, it emerges a simple picture of the photochemical routes of CO and CH3OH in the H2O and HNO3/H2O environments.

Graphical abstract: Photochemistry of carbon monoxide and methanol in water and nitric acid hydrate ices: A NEXAFS study

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
15 Apr 2010
Accepted
15 May 2010
First published
26 Jul 2010

Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2010,12, 10865-10870

Photochemistry of carbon monoxide and methanol in water and nitric acid hydrate ices: A NEXAFS study

C. Laffon, J. Lasne, F. Bournel, K. Schulte, S. Lacombe and Ph. Parent, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2010, 12, 10865 DOI: 10.1039/C0CP00229A

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