Conversion of H₂CO to CH₃OH by Reactions of Cold Atomic Hydrogen on Ice Surfaces below 20 K

Abstract

The conversion of formaldehyde (H2CO) to methanol (CH3OH) by successive hydrogenation on H2O ice was measured at 10, 15, and 20 K using atomic hydrogen beams of 30 and 300 K. The conversion rates and CH3OH yields under the 30 K beam are very similar to those under the 300 K beam at all ice temperatures, demonstrating that the reaction is independent of beam temperature. The dependence of the conversion rates on ice temperature is consistent with that for previous experiments on CO hydrogenation. The conversion rate for H2CO → CH3OH at 15 K was found to be about half that for CO → H2CO. The dependence of the reactions on the initial thickness of H2CO was also measured. More than 80% of H2CO was converted to CH3OH for H2CO layers of less than 1 monolayer in average thickness. Irradiation of CH3OH with H atoms did not produce H2CO, demonstrating that the reverse process, CH3OH → H2CO (H abstraction), is minor compared to the forward process.