Les faisceaux d’électrons lents d’énergie contrôlée permettent à la fois d’analyser les compositions chimiques de surfaces et interfaces, et d’induire des réactions chimiques spécifiques. Les enjeux des travaux effectués concernent l’identification des espèces en présence et des mécanismes d’interaction impliqués, et l’évaluation quantitative de l’efficacité des processus chimiques induits sous rayonnements.
Cryogenic Chemistry and Quantitative Non-Thermal Desorption from Pure Methanol Ices: High-Energy Electron versus X-Ray Induced Processes
X-Ray irradiation of interstellar ice analogues has recently been proven to induce desorption of molecules, thus being a potential source for the still-unexplained presence of gaseous organics in the coldest regions of the interstellar medium, especially in protoplanetary disks. The proposed desorption mechanism involves the Auger decay of excited molecules following soft X-ray absorption, known as X-ray induced electron-stimulated desorption (XESD). Aiming to quantify electron induced desorption in XESD, we irradiated pure methanol (CH3OH) ices at 23 K with 505 eV electrons, to simulate the Auger electrons originating from the O 1s core absorption. Desorption yields of neutral fragments and the effective methanol depletion cross-section were quantitatively determined by mass spectrometry. We derived desorption yields in molecules per incident electron for CO, CO2, CH3OH, CH4/O, H2O, H2CO, C2H6 and other less abundant but more complex organic products. We obtained desorption yields remarkably similar to XESD values.
Article: Daniela Torres-Díaz, Romain Basalgète, Mathieu Bertin, Jean-Hugues Fillion, Xavier Michaut, Lionel Amiaud, Anne Lafosse, « Cryogenic Chemistry and Quantitative Non-Thermal Desorption from Pure Methanol Ices: High-Energy Electron versus X-Ray Induced Processes », Chem. Phys. Chem. 24, e202200912 (2023).