{
  "abstract": "Low-energy electrons abundantly generated by galactic cosmic radiation are expected to play a central role in the radiation chemistry of interstellar and cometary ices, yet their capacity to drive specific bond-forming reactions in simple aromatic systems remains poorly constrained. Here, sub-12 eV electrons were used to irradiate mixed benzene (C 6 H 6 )–water ices under cryogenic conditions, which led to the selective formation of phenol (C 6 H 5 OH) via C–O bond formation at the aromatic ring. Energy-resolved measurements show that the phenol yield is governed by resonant processes, consistently with dissociative electron attachment and electronically excited states of the condensed benzene–water matrix. Temperature-programmed desorption combined with mass-spectrometry diagnostics allowed the direct quantification of phenol production. These results demonstrate that low-energy electrons alone can promote net hydroxylation of benzene in icy environments, providing a previously underappreciated route to phenolic species in dense clouds, star-forming regions and irradiated icy bodies, and highlighting electron-induced functionalization as a key driver of aromatic complexity in astrochemical ices.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 5,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "H. Abdoul-Carime"
    },
    {
      "name": "E. Ogden"
    },
    {
      "name": "L. Biennier"
    },
    {
      "name": "S. Carles"
    },
    {
      "name": "F. Rabilloud"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/d9gk1j9xesd4j.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1051/0004-6361/202659133",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "d9gk1j9xesd4j",
  "issns": [
    "0004-6361",
    "1432-0746"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://hal.science/hal-05656956v1",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "hal",
      "0.phys"
    ],
    [
      "hal",
      "0.sdu"
    ],
    [
      "hal",
      "1.sdu.astr"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "3103|Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7160548868",
  "pdf_url": "https://hal.science/hal-05656956/document",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-06-03",
  "publisher": "EDP Sciences",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/d9gk1j9xesd4j.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:56Z",
      "native_id": "hal-05656956",
      "source": "hal",
      "url": "https://hal.science/hal-05656956v1"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "astronomy",
      "origin": "openalex:3103|Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies",
      "subfield": "stellar"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Low-energy electron-driven functionalization of benzene–water ices to phenol",
  "title_text": "Low-energy electron-driven functionalization of benzene–water ices to phenol",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:56Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/d9gk1j9xesd4j",
  "venue": "Astronomy & Astrophysics - A&A",
  "versions": []
}