Formation of hydroxylamine (NH2OH) in electron-irradiated ammonia-water ices

We investigated chemical and physical processes in electron-irradiated ammonia-water ices at temperatures of 10 and 50 K. Chemically speaking, the formation of hydroxylamine (NH(2)OH) was observed in electron-irradiated ammonia-water ices. The synthesis of molecular hydrogen (H(2)), molecular nitrogen (N(2)), molecular oxygen (O(2)), hydrazine (N(2)H(4)), and hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)), which was also monitored in previous irradiation of pure ammonia and water ices, was also evident. These newly formed species were trapped inside of the ices and were released into the gas phase during the warm-up phase of the sample after the irradiation. A quantitative analysis of the data showed that the production rates of the newly formed species at 10 K are higher compared to those at 50 K. Our studies also suggest that hydroxylamine is likely formed by the recombination of amino (NH(2)) with hydroxyl (OH) radicals inside of the ices. Considering the physical effects on the ice sampled during the irradiation, the experiments provided compelling evidence that the crystalline ammonia-water ice samples can be partially converted to amorphous ices during the electron irradiation; similar to the chemical processes, the irradiation-induced amorphization of the ices is faster at 10 K than that at 50 K--a finding which is similar to electron-irradiated crystalline water ices under identical conditions. However, the amorphization of water in water-ammonia ices was found to be faster than that in pure water ices at identical temperatures.