Faculty and Student Publications
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
8-20-2019
Abstract
© 2019. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.. Methoxymethanol (CH3OCH2OH) was recently detected toward the MM1 core in the high-mass star-forming region NGC 6334I. However, the underlying formation mechanisms of this complex organic molecule (COM) as well as its structural isomers ethylene glycol (HOCH2CH2OH) and the hitherto unobserved dimethyl peroxide (CH3OOCH3) are still elusive. Here, we report the very first confirmed synthesis of dimethyl peroxide - at various deuteration levels within interstellar analogous ices of D3-methanol (CD3OH) exposed to ionizing radiation at ultralow temperatures of 5 K. The discrimination of specific isomers is achieved by exploiting reflectron time-of-flight mass spectrometry coupled with isomer-selective photoionization of the subliming molecules in the temperature programmed desorption phase of the experiment. Based on the distribution of the identified species at distinct mass-to-charge ratios, we reveal primary and secondary reaction pathways to methoxymethanol, ethylene glycol, and dimethyl peroxide involving radical-radical recombination of methoxy (CH3O) and hydroxymethyl (CH2OH). Our findings help to constrain the formation mechanism of COMs detected within star-forming regions (methoxymethanol, ethylene glycol) and propose that the hitherto elusive dimethyl peroxide isomer represents an excellent candidate for future astronomical searches.
Relational Format
journal article
Recommended Citation
Zhu, C., Frigge, R., Bergantini, A., Fortenberry, R. C., & Kaiser, R. I. (2019). Untangling the Formation of Methoxymethanol (CH 3 OCH 2 OH) and Dimethyl Peroxide (CH 3 OOCH 3 ) in Star-forming Regions. The Astrophysical Journal, 881(2), 156. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ab2989
DOI
10.3847/1538-4357/ab2989
Accessibility Status
Searchable text