2012/08/07 by G. Fedoseev, Gleb Fedoseev, S. Ioppolo +9 · 1 citation
Chemistry · Physics and Astronomy · #Astro and Planetary Science #Astrochemistry #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #Fullerene Chemistry and Applications #Hydroxylamine #Interstellar cloud #Interstellar ice #Oxide #Phase (matter) #Photodissociation #Polar #Reaction intermediate #astro-ph.GA
paper · pdf · doi:10.1063/1.4738893
published as Journal of Chemical Physics, Volume 137, Issue 5, page 054714 (2012)
openalex publication_date 2012/08/07 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · arxiv created 2017/05/25 · arxiv updated 2017/05/26 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Hydroxylamine (NH(2)OH) is one of the potential precursors of complex pre-biotic species in space. Here, we present a detailed experimental study of hydroxylamine formation through nitric oxide (NO) surface hydrogenation for astronomically relevant conditions. The aim of this work is to investigate hydroxylamine formation efficiencies in polar (water-rich) and non-polar (carbon monoxide-rich) interstellar ice analogues. A complex reaction network involving both final (N(2)O, NH(2)OH) and intermediate (HNO, NH(2)O·, etc.) products is discussed. The main conclusion is that hydroxyl-amine formation takes place via a fast and barrierless mechanism and it is found to be even more abundantly formed in a water-rich environment at lower temperatures. In parallel, we experimentally verify the non-formation of hydroxylamine upon UV photolysis of NO ice at cryogenic temperatures as well as the non-detection of NC- and NCO-bond bearing species after UV processing of NO in carbon monoxide-rich ices. Our results are implemented into an astrochemical reaction model, which shows that NH(2)OH is abundant in the solid phase under dark molecular cloud conditions. Once NH(2)OH desorbs from the ice grains, it becomes available to form more complex species (e.g., glycine and β-alanine) in gas phase reaction schemes.