Context. Water is the major component of the interstellar ice mantle. In interstellar ice, chemical reactivity is limited by the diffusion of the reacting molecules, which are usually present at abundances of a few percent with respect to water. Aims. We want to study the thermal diffusion of H 2 CO, NH 3 , HNCO, and CO in amorphous water ice experimentally to account for the mobility of these molecules in the interstellar grain ice mantle. Methods. In laboratory experiments performed at fixed temperatures, the diffusion of molecules in ice analogues was monitored by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Diffusion coefficients were extracted from isothermal experiments using Fick's second law of diffusion. Results. We measured the surface diffusion coefficients and their dependence with the temperature in porous amorphous ice for HNCO, H 2 CO, NH 3 , and CO. They range from 10 −15 to 10 −11 cm 2 s −1 for HNCO, H 2 CO, and NH 3 between 110 K and 140 K, and between 5-8 × 10 −13 cm 2 s −1 for CO between 35 K and 40 K. The bulk diffusion coefficients in compact amorphous ice are too low to be measured by our technique and a 10 −15 cm 2 s −1 upper limit can be estimated. The amorphous ice framework reorganization at low temperature is also put in evidence. Conclusions. Surface diffusion of molecular species in amorphous ice can be experimentally measured, while their bulk diffusion may be slower than the ice mantle desorption kinetics.

UV and IR photoreactivities of acetylacetone isolated at 4.3 K in four matrixes (N(2), Ne, Ar, Xe), pure and doped with O(2) are investigated, using either tunable UV and IR optical parametric oscillators, or a broad band mercury lamp. Samples are probed by UV and FTIR spectroscopies: electronic and vibrational transitions are assigned and irradiation kinetics are analyzed. Contrary to what is observed in the gas phase, stereoisomerization is the main reaction observed: UV irradiation breaks the strong H-bond of the stable enolic form of acetylacetone, leading to the observation of non-chelated forms. Isomerization among the different non-chelated forms as well as back-isomerization to the chelated form are also observed under UV irradiation. Similar reactions and reaction rates are observed for the four matrixes, indicating that the inter-system crossing to the T(1) state involved in the isomerization process is very fast, probably due to efficient coupling with phonons, in contrast with gas phase where inter-system crossing is rate-limiting. When matrixes are doped with O(2), dissociation of the non-chelated forms under UV irradiation is observed and fragments, in particular CO, are formed in large amounts. Dissociation through a Norrish type-I reaction is probably one of the reaction channels occurring during electronic relaxation: dissociation is hindered by the surrounding cage in the case of pure matrixes while fragments immediately react with O(2) in the case of doped matrixes. The differences between gas phase and cold solid medium photodynamics of acetylacetone are discussed.

The dynamics of the enolic form of acetylacetone (E-AcAc) was investigated using a femtosecond pump-probe experiment. The pump at 266 nm excited E-AcAc in the first bright state, S2(pi pi*). The resulting dynamics was probed by multiphoton ionization at 800 nm. It was investigated for 80 ps on the S2(pi pi*) and S1(n pi*) potential energy surfaces. An important step is the transfer from S2 to S1 that occurs with a time constant of 1.4 +/- 0.2 ps. Before, the system had left the excitation region in 70 +/- 10 fs. An intermediate step was identified when E-AcAc traveled on the S2 surface. Likely, it corresponds to an accidental resonance in the detection scheme that is met along this path. More importantly, some clues are given that an intramolecular vibrational energy relaxation is observed, which transfers excess vibrational energy from the enolic group O-H to the other modes of the molecule. The present multistep evolution of excited E-AcAc probably also describes, at least qualitatively, the dynamics of other electronically excited beta-diketones.

Cryogenic matrix isolation experiments have allowed the measurement of the UV absorption spectra of the high-energy non-chelated isomers of acetylacetone, these isomers being produced by UV irradiation of the stable chelated form. Their identification has been done by coupling selective UV-induced isomerization, infrared spectroscopy, and harmonic vibrational frequency calculations using density functional theory. The relative energies of the chelated and non-chelated forms of acetylacetone in the S0 state have been obtained using density functional theory and coupled-cluster methods. For each isomer of acetylacetone, we have calculated the UV transition energies and dipole oscillator strengths using the excited-state coupled-cluster methods, including EOMCCSD (equation-of-motion coupled-cluster method with singles and doubles) and CR-EOMCCSD(T) (the completely renormalized EOMCC approach with singles, doubles, and non-iterative triples). For dipole-allowed transition energies, there is a very good agreement between experiment and theory. In particular, the CR-EOMCCSD(T) approach explains the blue shift in the electronic spectrum due to the formation of the non-chelated species after the UV irradiation of the chelated form of acetylacetone. Both experiment and CR-EOMCCSD(T) theory identify two among the seven non-chelated forms to be characterized by red-shifted UV transitions relative to the remaining five non-chelated isomers.

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We revisit here how Raman spectroscopy can be used to estimate the H content in hard hydrogenated amorphous carbon layers. The H content was varied from 2 at.% to 30 at.%, using heat treatments of a a-C:H, from room temperature to 1300 K and was determined independently using ion beam analysis. We examine the correlation of various Raman parameters and the consistency of their thermal evolution with thermo-desorption results. We identify a weak band at 860 cm -1 attributed to H bonded to C(sp 2 ). We show that the H D /H G parameter (Height ratio between the D and G bands) is quasi-linear in the full range of H content and can thus be used to estimate the H content. Conversely, we show that the m/H G parameter (ratio between the photoluminescence background, m, and the height of the G band), often used to estimate the H content, should be used with care, first because it is sensitive to various photoluminescence quenching processes and second because it is not sensitive to H bonded to C(sp 2 ).

We have performed new quantum calculations based on density functional theory, using plane waves and ultrasoft pseudopotentials to deal with the problem of modeling CO adsorption on a water ice surface and to obtain a theoretical understanding on the physical mechanisms involved during the monolayer formation. We have also done a new series of experiments, using the combination of volumetric adsorption isotherm and infrared spectroscopy measurements to study the different stages of CO adsorption on amorphous ice, from submonolayer to solid condensation. The multilayer formation has been evidenced by volumetric measurements, and its contribution has been characterized in the low-frequency part of the CO infrared spectrum. Three surface sites have been identified by spectroscopy, and their intensities have been controlled throughout the whole monolayer formation, showing a site specific, though nonselective, adsorption process. Calculations have consistently succeeded in determining three adsorption configurations whose energies are similar. Finally, the geometry of the complete monolayer has been fully described, and its high compacity has been explained by analyzing the balance between vertical and lateral interactions.