Ice Surface Chemistry: Implication for Molecular Evolution in Space

Icy dust particles in interstellar clouds are considered to play a catalytic role in molecular evolution in space. Atoms and simple molecules constituting the ice mantles of dust particles may be transformed into more complex molecules under the irradiation of UV and cosmic rays. This seminar will present our recent study results for chemistry of ice surfaces, with the emphases on the mechanistic features of elementary reactions and the implications for interstellar molecular evolution. The types of reactions studied include molecule diffusion in ice, proton and hydroxide transfers, and some UV-induced reactions wih astrobiological relevance.