Chang-Woo Lee

Formation of Glycine on Ultraviolet-Irradiated Interstellar Ice-Analog Films and Implications for Interstellar Amino Acids

We report the synthesis of glycine on interstellar ice-analog films composed of water, methylamine (MA), and carbon dioxide under irradiation of ultraviolet (UV) photons. Analysis of the UV-irradiated ice films by in situ mass spectrometric methods revealed glycine and other isomers as photochemical products. Deuterium-labeling experiments were conducted to determine the structures of the photoproducts and to examine their formation pathways. The reactions occur via photocleavages of C-H and N-H bonds in MA, followed by subsequent reactions of the nascent H atom with CO2, leading to the formation of HOCO and then to glycine and carbamic acid. The photochemical synthesis of glycine occurs efficiently at the ice surfaces, and the competing photosynthesis and photodestruction processes can reach a steady-state kinetic balance at an extended UV exposure, maintaining a substantial population level of glycine. The observation suggests that interstellar amino acids can be created on ice grains, and that they can also be stored in the ices by maintaining a kinetic balance under interstellar UV irradiation. As such, the transport of amino acids in interstellar space may be possible without depleting the net abundance of amino acids in the ices but rather increasing the structural diversity of the molecules.

Mechanistic study of proton transfer and H∕D exchange in ice films at low temperatures (100–140K)

We have examined the elementary molecular processes responsible for proton transfer and HD exchange in thin ice films for the temperature range of 100-140 K. The ice films are made to have a structure of a bottom D(2)O layer and an upper H(2)O layer, with excess protons generated from HCl ionization trapped at the D(2)OH(2)O interface. The transport behavior of excess protons from the interfacial layer to the ice film surface and the progress of the HD exchange reaction in water molecules are examined with the techniques of low energy sputtering and Cs(+) reactive ion scattering. Three major processes are identified: the proton hopping relay, the hop-and-turn process, and molecular diffusion. The proton hopping relay can occur even at low temperatures (<120 K), and it transports a specific portion of embedded protons to the surface. The hop-and-turn mechanism, which involves the coupling of proton hopping and molecule reorientation, increases the proton transfer rate and causes the HD exchange of water molecules. The hop-and-turn mechanism is activated at temperatures above 125 K in the surface region. Diffusional mixing of H(2)O and D(2)O molecules additionally contributes to the HD exchange reaction at temperatures above 130 K. The hop-and-turn and molecular diffusion processes are activated at higher temperatures in the deeper region of ice films. The relative speeds of these processes are in the following order: hopping relay>hop and turn>molecule diffusion.

UV-induced protonation of molecules adsorbed on ice surfaces at low temperature

UV irradiation of ice films adsorbed with methylamine molecules induces protonation of the adsorbate molecules at low temperature (50-130 K). The observation indicates that long-lived protonic defects are created in the ice film by UV light, and they transfer protons to the adsorbate molecules via tunneling mechanism at low temperature. The methylammonium ion formed by proton transfer remains to be stable at the ice surface. It is suggested that this solid-phase protonation might play a significant role in the production of molecular ions in interstellar clouds.