The significant role of water in reactions occurring on the surface of interstellar ice grains: Hydrogenation of pure ketene H2CCO ice versus hydrogenation of mixed H2CCO/H2O ice at 10 K.

Water ice plays an important role in reactions taking place on the surface of interstellar ice grains, ranging from catalytic effects that reduce reaction barrier heights to effects that stabilize the reaction products and intermediates formed, or that favor one reaction pathway over another, passing through water-involvement in the reaction to produce more complex molecules that cannot be formed without water or water-derived fragments H, O and OH. In this context, we have combined experimental and theoretical studies to investigate ketene (CH2CO) + H solid-state reaction at 10 K in the presence and absence of water molecules under interstellar conditions, through H-bombardment of CH2CO and CH2CO/H2O ices. We show in the present study that with or without water, the ketene molecule reacts with H atoms to form four reaction products, namely CO, H2CO, CH4 and CH3CHO. Based on the amounts of CH2CO consumed during the hydrogenation processes, the CH2CO + 2H reaction appears to be more efficient in the presence of water. This underlines the catalytic role of water ice in reactions occurring on the surface of interstellar ice grains. However, if we refer to the yields of reaction products formed during the hydrogenation of CH2CO and CH2CO/H2O ices, we find that water molecules favor the reaction pathway to form CH3CHO and deactivate that leading to CH4 and H2CO. These experimental results are in good agreements with the theoretical predictions that highlight the catalytic effect of H2O on the CH2CO + H reaction, whose potential energy barrier drops from 4.6 kcal mol-1 (without water) to 3.8 and 3.6 kcal mol-1 with one and two water molecules respectively.

Formation of CO, CH4, H2CO and CH3CHO through the H2CCO + H surface reaction under interstellar conditions.

The reaction of ketene (H2CCO) with hydrogen atoms has been studied under interstellar conditions through two different experimental methods, occurring on the surface and in the bulk of H2CCO ice. We show that ketene interaction with H-atoms at 10 K leads mainly to four reaction products, carbon monoxide (CO), methane (CH4), formaldehyde (H2CO) and acetaldehyde (CH3CHO). A part of these results shows a chemical link between a simple organic molecule such as H2CCO and a complex one such as CH3CHO, through H-addition reactions taking place in dense molecular clouds. The H-addition processes are very often proposed by astrophysical models as mechanisms for the formation of complex organic molecules based on the abundance of species already detected in the interstellar medium. However, the present study shows that the hydrogenation of ketene under non-energetic conditions may also lead efficiently to fragmentation processes and the formation of small species such as CO, CH4 and H2CO, without supplying external energy such as UV photons or high energy particles. Such fragmentation pathways should be included in the astrophysical modeling of H2CCO + H in the molecular clouds of the interstellar medium. To support these results, theoretical calculations have explicitly showed that, under our experimental conditions, H-atom interactions with the CC bond of ketene lead mainly to CH3CHO, CH4 and CO. By investigating the formation and reactivity of the reaction intermediate H3C-CO radical, our calculations demonstrate that the H3C-CO + H reaction evolves through two barrierless pathways to form either CH3CHO or CH4 and CO fragments.

Formation of ozone by solid state reactions.

We studied the isotopic composition of ozone formed at low (3-10 K) temperature via O + O2 solid state reactions using a partially dissociated 16O/16O2 : 18O/18O2 = 1 : 1 mixture. The ozone ice has an isotopic abundance that differs from the statistical one and from gas phase studies. Ozone formation is influenced by the competition of the production of O2 (O + O or O + O3) vs. O3 (O + O2) and by the energy released in the O + O reaction. The exothermicity of the O + O reaction helps to overcome the barrier of the O + O2 reaction. Heating the ozone ice past 50 K brings about a transformation from amorphous to crystalline ice. The formation of ozone on water ice yields a blue shift of IR bands, and the yield of formed O3 increases up to the sample temperature of 100 K. When 18O/18O2 is deposited on H216O ice, formation of 18O18O16O is detected. We propose that the exothermicity of the reaction 18O + 18O drives water dissociation (16O + H2) followed by ozone formation (16O + 18O2 → 16O18O18O).

Reduction of C[double bond, length as m-dash]O functional groups through H addition reactions: a comparative study between H2CO + H, CH3CH2CHO + H and CH3OCHO + H under interstellar conditions.

H-addition reactions on the icy interstellar grains may play an important role in the formation of complex organic molecules. In the present work we propose a comparative study of H2CO + H, CH3CH2CHO + H and CH3OCHO + H solid state reactions at 10 K under interstellar conditions in order to characterize the main reaction pathways involved in the hydrogenation of a CHO functional group. We show that the most probable mechanism for the formation of alcohols under non-energetic conditions through the saturation of the CHO group corresponds to the attachment of the H atom to the CH group with noticeable variations of the energy barriers for each studied reaction. These energy barriers have been calculated to be 8.3, 14.6 and 32.7 kJ mol-1 for H2CO + H, CH3CH2CHO + H and CH3OCHO + H, respectively. The coupling of the experimental and theoretical analysis proves that while the simplest aldehyde, formaldehyde, is easily reduced to methanol, methylformate and propanal behave differently under H-bombardments but they cannot be a source of alcohol formation through H-addition reactions. Consequently, for the formation of alcohols larger than CH3OH, other chemical pathways should be taken into account, probably energetic processing such as the photolysis of interstellar ice analogues containing C-, H- and O-bearing compounds or the coupling of the H-addition reaction and photon-irradiation on species with a CHO functional group.

Formation of simple nitrogen hydrides NH and NH2 at cryogenic temperatures through N + NH3→ NH + NH2 reaction: dark cloud chemistry of nitrogen.

Although NH3 molecules interacting with ground state nitrogen atoms N((4)S) seem not to be a very reactive system without providing additional energy to initiate the chemical process, we show through this study that, in the solid phase, at very low temperature, NH3 + N((4)S) reaction leads to the formation of the amidogen radical NH2. Such a dissociation reaction previously thought to occur exclusively through UV photon or energetic particle irradiation is in this work readily occurring just by stimulating the mobility of N((4)S)-atoms in the 3-10 K temperature range in the solid sample. The N((4)S)-N((4)S) recombination may be the source of metastable molecular nitrogen N2(A), a reactive species which might trigger the NH3 dissociation or react with ground state nitrogen atoms N((4)S) to form excited nitrogen atoms N((4)P/(2)D) through energy transfer processes. Based on our obtained results, it is possible to propose reaction pathways to explain the NH2 radical formation which is the first step in the activation of stable species such as NH3, a chemical induction process that, in addition to playing an important role in the origin of molecular complexity in interstellar space, is known to require external energy supplies to occur in the gas phase.

Versatile access to Martin's spirosilanes and their hypervalent derivatives.

A new route to Martin's spirosilanes has been devised. The original synthesis does not allow diversely substituted spirosilane derivatives to be synthesized, and thus their corresponding silicates. In this report, Martin's spirosilanes bearing alkyl, aryl, halogen, alkoxy, and trifluoromethyl substituents on the aryl ring have been prepared through a versatile four-step route. Addition of fluoride onto these Lewis acids as a prototypical reaction with a nucleophile yielded a library of stable fluorosilicates. Both sets of compounds have been characterized by X-ray crystallography.

Formation of HNCO from carbon monoxide and atomic nitrogen in their fundamental states. Investigation of the reaction pathway in conditions relevant to the interstellar medium.

As a simple molecule containing the four main atoms essential for life as we know it, isocyanic acid can be considered as a prebiotic molecule. As such, the understanding of reaction mechanisms leading to its formation is fundamental. Isocyanic acid is present in different physical environments in the medium. Previous studies have suggested that, in water-containing ices, on the surface of dust grains, HNCO may be formed from N and CO in their fundamental states. To further investigate the reaction process, herein we investigate this reaction by means of the matrix-isolation technique.

Reactivity between non-energetic hydroxyl (OH) radicals and methane (CH4).

Reactions between dilute methane and nonenergetic hydroxyl radicals were carried out at 3.5 K. The temperature was kept low in order to characterize the stepwise reaction and prevent parasitic side reactions. The hydroxyl radicals originate from discharged H(2)O/He mixtures. The reactions were monitored in situ using a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer. The formation of CH(3) radicals was confirmed simultaneously with the formation of water ice. Subsequent recombination reactions lead to the formation of ethane (C(2)H(6)). Production of ethane and water ice occur preferentially to the formation of methanol.

Vibrational spectra and structure of CH3Cl:(H2O)2 and CH3Cl:(D2O)2 complexes. IR matrix isolation and ab initio calculations.

The infrared spectra of CH3Cl + H2O isolated in solid neon at low temperature have been investigated. High concentration studies of water (0.01%-4%) and subsequent annealing lead to the formation of the ternary CH3Cl:(H2O)2 complex. Detailed vibrational assignments were made on the observed spectra of water and deuterated water engaged in the complex. In parallel, structural, energetic, and vibrational properties of the complex have been studied at the second-order Møller-Plesset perturbation theory using several basis sets. Anaharmonic correction to the vibrational frequencies has been done with the standard second-order perturbation approach. It was shown that the ground state of the complex has a cyclic form for which the nonadditive three-body contribution was found to be around 10% of the interaction energy.

Vibrational spectra and structures of H2O-NO, HDO-NO, and D2O-NO complexes. An IR matrix isolation and DFT study.

The IR spectra of H2O+NO, HDO+NO, and D2O+NO, isolated in solid neon at low temperature have been investigated. Concentration effects and detailed vibrational analysis of deuterated and partially deuterated species allowed identification of three 1:1 HDO-NO species, two 1:1 D2O-NO species, and only one 1:1 H2O-NO complex. From comparison between the experimental spectra and the results of DFT calculations, it appeared that two different types of weakly bound complexes between water and nitric oxide can be formed in a neon matrix. The first species is a 1:1 complex where bonding occurs between water hydrogen and nitric oxide nitrogen, in which OH-N and OD-N intermolecular bonds are engaged. For this complex only DOD-NO, HOD-NO, and DOH-NO isotopic species have been experimentally detected and no IR bands of HOH-NO were observed. This result could be explained by the fact that the dissociation energy of HOH-NO is lower than those of DOD-NO, HOD-NO and DOH-NO. For the second detected 1:1 H2O-NO complex and its isotopic variants, the H2O-NO potential surface was explored systematically at the B3LYP level, but no stable species corresponding to the complex could be calculated. The structure of the second observed 1:1 H2O-NO complex results from columbic attractions between water and nitric oxide and could be stabilized only in matrix, probably by interaction between NO, water and (Ne)n.

Femtosecond electronic relaxation of excited metalloporphyrins in the gas phase.

A systematic study of the ultrafast decay of metalloporphyrins containing various transition metals with partially filled 3d shells and zinc (3d filled) is reported here after excitation in the second excited state of the system (Soret band). Both time-of-flight mass spectrometry and velocity map imaging have been used for detection. A general biexponential decay with a short time constant tau1 approximately 100 fs is observed for the transition metal porphyrins, followed by a tau2 approximately 1 ps time decay. This evolution is interpreted as a porphyrin-to-metal charge transfer, tau1, followed by a back transfer, tau2, which leads to an excited state (d,d*) localized on the metal. These conclusions stem from the different behaviors of zinc and the transition metal porphyrins. A porphyrin-to-metal charge transfer model is chosen to describe the relaxation mechanism, based upon the fact that transition metalloporphyrins can accept electrons on the metal site, in contrast to zinc porphyrins.

Vibrational spectra and structure of CH3Cl:NO complex: IR matrix isolation and DFT study.

Infrared spectra of the CH(3)Cl:NO complex isolated in solid neon have been investigated. Most of the vibrational modes of the complex have been detected. The weak interaction between NO and CH(3)Cl in CH(3)Cl:NO is responsible for small shifts of the vibrational mode frequencies of both CH(3)Cl and NO molecules. The measured shifts range between -3.2 and + 3.8 cm(-1). On the basis of DFT calculations, different geometries have been explored for the complex, and it has been shown that the most stable structure is of C(1) symmetry. The calculated frequency shifts match well the experimental data.

Absorption spectra of ground-state and low-lying electronic States of copper nitrosyl: a rare gas matrix isolation study.

The reaction of ground-state Cu atoms with NO during condensation in solid argon, neon, and binary argon/neon mixtures has been reinvestigated. In addition to the ground-state already characterized in rare gas matrixes by its nu1 mode in reactions of laser-ablated Cu with nitric oxide, another very low lying electronic state is observed for CuNO in solid argon. Photoconversion and equilibrium processes are observed between the two lowest lying electronic states following photoexcitations to second and third excited states in the visible and near-infrared. The electronic spectrum of the CuNO complex was also recorded to understand the photoconversion processes. In solid neon, only the ground state (probably 1A') and the second and third excited states are observed. This suggests that interaction with the argon cage stabilizes the triplet state to make 1A' and 3A' ' states almost isoenergetic in solid argon. On the basis of previous predictions founded on DFT calculations on the very low lying 1A' and 3A' ', a mechanism is proposed, involving the singlet-triplet state manifolds. For these two lower and one higher electronic states, 14N/15N, 16O/18O, and 63Cu/65Cu isotopic data on nu1, nu2, and nu3 have been measured. On the basis of harmonic force-field calculations and relative intensities in the vibronic progressions, some structural parameters are estimated. The molecule is bent in all electronic states, with Cu-N-O bond angles varying slightly around 130 +/- 10 degrees , but the Cu-N bond force constants are substantially different, denoting larger differences in bond lengths.

Vibrational spectra and structure of CH3Cl:H2O, CH3Cl:HDO, and CH3Cl:D2O complexes. IR matrix isolation and ab initio calculations.

The infrared spectra of CH3Cl + H2O isolated in solid neon at low temperatures have been investigated. The CH3Cl + H2O system is remarkable because of its propensity to form CH3Cl:H2O and CH3Cl:(H2O)n (n > or = 2) complexes. We focus here on the CH3Cl:H2O species. Low concentration studies (0.01-0.5%) and subsequent annealing lead to formation of the 1:1 CH3Cl:H2O complex with O-H. . .Cl-C or O. . .H-C intermolecular hydrogen bonds. Vibrational modes of this complex have been detected. In addition, spectra of D2O + CH3Cl and HDO + CH3Cl have also been recorded. A detailed vibrational analysis of partially deuterated species shows that HDO is exclusively D bonded to CH3Cl. This is a consequence of the preference for HDO to form a deuterium bonding complex rather than a hydrogen bonding one.

Infrared spectra of RuTPP, RuCOTPP, and Ru(CO)2TPP isolated in solid argon.

Infrared spectra of unstable species such as CO-free ruthenium tetraphenylporphyrin RuTPP and RuCOTPP (species with vacant coordination sites) isolated in solid argon at 8 K have been recorded. Selective deposition conditions allow the isolation of either RuTPP and RuCOTPP or RuCOTPP and Ru(CO)2TPP. This depends on the preparation conditions of the sample. A specific Ru-CO bending mode has been characterized at 590.1 cm(-1) for Ru(CO)2TPP. The behavior of each vibrational mode of RuTPP, RuCOTPP, and Ru(CO)2TPP has been analyzed. Modes such as gamma8 at 721.3 cm(-1) (out-of-plane stretching mode gamma(Cbeta-H)sym) and nu41 at 1342.8 cm(-1) (nuCalpha-N coupled with deltaCalpha-Cm) reflect the charge transfer in the porphyrin. Indeed, the addition of one or two CO ligands to RuTPP reduces the charge transfer between the metal center and the porphyrin, which appears as an increase in the frequency of the nu41 mode and in a decrease in that of the gamma8 mode.