Reactivity of formic acid (HCOOH) with H atoms on cold surfaces of interstellar interest

Abstract

Context. Formic acid (HCOOH) is the simplest organic carboxylic acid in chemical synthesis and the significant species in interstellar chemistry. HCOOH has been abundantly detected in interstellar ices, dense molecular clouds and star-forming regions. Aims. Laboratory hydrogenation experiments of HCOOH molecules with H atoms were performed with two cryogenic ultra-high vacuum devices on amorphous solid water ices, and highly oriented pyrolytic graphite surfaces. The aim of this work is to study the reactivity of HCOOH molecules with H atoms at low surface temperature 10 K, low surface coverage of one monolayer to three layers, and low H-atom flux of about 3.0 × 1012 molecule cm−2 s−1. Methods. HCOOH and H beams were deposited on cold surfaces held at 10 K, and the condensed films were analyzed by in-situ Reflection Absorption InfraRed Spectroscopy and temperature programmed desorption (TPD) mass spectrometry technique by heating the sample from 10 to 200 K. Results. Using the temperature programmed during exposure desorption technique, we highlight the possible dimerization of HCOOH molecules at low surface temperatures between 10 and 100 K. In our HCOOH+H experiments, we evaluated a consumption of 20–30% of formic acid by comparing the TPD curves at m/z 46 of pure and H-exposed HCOOH ice. Conclusions. The hydrogenation HCOOH+H reaction is efficient at low surface temperatures. The main products identified experimentally are carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O) molecules. CO bearing species CH3OH, and H2CO are also detected mainly on graphite surfaces. A chemical surface reaction route for the HCOOH+H system is proposed to explain the product formation.