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Updated: Jun 26, 2025

Analyzing the Photo-oxidation of 2-propanol at Indoor Air Level Concentrations Using Field Asymmetric Ion Mobility Spectrometry
Published on: June 14, 2018
Direct Observation of Gas-Phase Hydroxymethylene: Photoionization and Kinetics Resulting from Methanol
Emily K Hockey1, Nathan McLane2, Carles Martí3
1Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, United States.
Abstract:
Carbene species play an integral role in high-energy chemistry, transition-metal-carbene chemistry, catalysis, photolytic formation of carbohydrates, and possibly even the formation of interstellar sugars. In 1921, "reactive formaldehyde"─now known as hydroxymethylene (HCOH)─was first implicated as an intermediate in photocatalytic processes. However, due to its transient nature, direct observation of HCOH has predominantly been attained using cryogenic isolation methods. As a result, HCOH gas-phase reactivity measurements have been limited. We directly observed HCOH using photoionization spectroscopy following UV photodissociation of methanol. Our measurements show it reacts slowly with O2 at room temperature. This work provides evidence for the formation mechanism of HCOH from CH3OH and its subsequent reactivity under gas-phase reaction conditions.
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