Related papers: Experimental Characterization of the Energetics of…
Molecules in space are synthesized via a large variety of gas-phase reactions, and reactions on dust-grain surfaces, where the surface acts as a catalyst. Especially, saturated, hydrogen-rich molecules are formed through surface chemistry.…
Dust grains play a central role in the physics and chemistry of cosmic environments. They influence the optical and thermal properties of the medium due to their interaction with stellar radiation; provide surfaces for the chemical…
High density polyethylene surfaces were exposed to the atmospheric post-discharge of a radiofrequency plasma torch supplied in helium and oxygen. Dynamic water contact angle measurements were performed to evaluate changes in surface…
Surfaces serve as highly efficient catalysts for a vast variety of chemical reactions. Typically, such surface reactions involve billions of molecules which diffuse and react over macroscopic areas. Therefore, stochastic fluctuations are…
Surface chemistry on cosmic dust grains plays an important role in the formation of molecules at low temperatures in the interstellar and circumstellar environments. For the first time, we experimentally put in evidence the catalytic role…
Advanced telescopes, such as ALMA and JWST, are likely to show that the chemical universe may be even more complex than currently observed, requiring astrochemical modelers to improve their models to account for the impact of new data.…
Molecules are ubiquitous in space. They are necessary component in the creation of habitable planetary systems and can provide the basic building blocks of life. Solid-state processes are pivotal in the formation of molecules in space and…
Grain surface chemistry and its treatment in gas-grain chemical models is an area of large uncertainty. Whilst laboratory experiments are making progress, there is still much that is unknown about grain surface chemistry. Further, the…
Because chemical reactions on/in cosmic ice dust grains covered by amorphous solid water (ASW) play important roles in generating a variety of molecules, many experimental and theoretical studies have focused on the chemical processes…
Chemical reactions on metal surfaces are important in various processes such as heterogeneous catalysis and nanostructure growth. At moderate or lower temperatures, these reactions generally follow the minimum energy path and temperature…
Interstellar complex organic molecules (iCOMs) can be loosely defined as chemical compounds with at least six atoms in which at least one is carbon. The observations of iCOMs in star-forming regions have shown that they contain an important…
In cold astrophysical environments, some molecules are observed in the gas phase whereas they should have been depleted, frozen on dust grains. In order to solve this problem, astrochemists have proposed that a fraction of molecules…
Water is abundantly present in the Universe. It is the main component of interstellar ice mantles and a key ingredient for life. Water in space is mainly formed through surface reactions. Three formation routes have been proposed in the…
The solid-state reaction C + H$_2$O $\rightarrow$ H$_2$CO was studied experimentally following the codeposition of C atoms and H$_2$O molecules at low temperatures. In spite of the reaction barrier and absence of energetic triggering, the…
This study focuses on the formation of two molecules of astrobiological importance - glycolaldehyde (HC(O)CH2OH) and ethylene glycol (H2C(OH)CH2OH) - by surface hydrogenation of CO molecules. Our experiments aim at simulating the CO…
The radicals HCO and CH$_3$ on carbon monoxide ice surfaces were simulated using density functional theory. Their binding energy on amorphous CO ice shows broad distributions, with approximative average values of 500 K for HCO and 200 K for…
This paper provides a brief summary and overview of the astrochemistry associated with the formation of stars and planets. It is aimed at new researchers in the field to enable them to obtain a quick overview of the landscape and key…
Investigating atom-surface interactions is the key to an in-depth understanding of chemical processes at interfaces, which are of central importance in many fields -- from heterogeneous catalysis to corrosion. In this work, we present a…
The evaporation of molecules from dust grains is crucial to understand some key aspects of the star- and the planet-formation processes. During the warm-up phase the presence of young protostellar objects induces molecules to evaporate from…
The phase diagram of surface structures for the model catalyst RuO2(110) in contact with a gas environment of O2 and CO is calculated by density-functional theory and atomistic thermodynamics. Adsorption of the reactants is found to depend…