Methyl Isocyanate Formation from Oxygen Insertion in Methyl Cyanide Ices

TL;DR

This study shows that oxygen atoms generated by UV photolysis can rapidly insert into methyl cyanide ices at cold temperatures, producing methyl isocyanate and other compounds, revealing a new pathway for chemical complexity in space.

Contribution

It demonstrates that oxygen atom insertion into methyl cyanide occurs efficiently at low temperatures, providing a novel mechanism for complex molecule formation in cold interstellar ices.

Findings

Oxygen atoms rapidly insert into methyl cyanide to produce methyl isocyanate.

The reaction occurs efficiently between 10 K and 40 K with no temperature dependence.

Formation of methyl isocyanate remains robust in different ice matrices, with some variation in yield.

Abstract

In cold molecular clouds, UV photolysis of icy grain mantles generates radicals that lead to new molecule formation. When radical diffusion is limited by low temperatures, oxygen atom addition and insertion reactions, enabled by photolysis of common ice components such as H$_2$O, CO$_2$, CO, and O$_3$, offer an alternative route to chemical complexity through the production of metastable, highly reactive O($^{1}D$) atoms. We examine the reactivity of these oxygen atoms generated by UV photolysis of O$_3$ with methyl cyanide (CH$_3$CN). These studies are conducted in an ultrahigh vacuum chamber at cryogenic and low-pressure conditions equipped with in situ infrared spectroscopy to monitor destruction and product formation in real time. We conclude that oxygen atoms rapidly insert into CH$_3$CN to produce primarily methyl isocyanate (CH$_3$NCO) in matrix free ices. Over the range from 10 K to 40 K, we observe no temperature dependence to either CH$_3$CN destruction or CH$_3$NCO production. When placing CH$_3$CN:O$_3$ in H$_2$O and CO$_2$ ice matrices, we find that CH$_3$NCO formation remains robust, but that the yield likely decreases due to competing reaction pathways. In the case of the H$_2$O ice we also observe a shift in product branching ratios towards alternative pathways such as the formation of hydroxyacetonitrile (HOCH$_2$CN). Overall, our results demonstrate that oxygen atom reactivity provides an important channel for generating chemical complexity from nitriles on cold grains where radical mobility is limited.