Low-energy electron-driven functionalization of benzene–water ices to phenol
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.
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BibTeX
@article{abdoulcarime2026lowenergy,
title = {{Low-energy electron-driven functionalization of benzene–water ices to phenol}},
author = {H. Abdoul-Carime and E. Ogden and L. Biennier and S. Carles and F. Rabilloud},
journal = {Astronomy \& Astrophysics - A\&A},
year = {2026},
month = jun,
doi = {10.1051/0004-6361/202659133},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05656956v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Low-energy electron-driven functionalization of benzene–water ices to phenol
AU - H. Abdoul-Carime
AU - E. Ogden
AU - L. Biennier
AU - S. Carles
AU - F. Rabilloud
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/06/03
JO - Astronomy & Astrophysics - A&A
DO - 10.1051/0004-6361/202659133
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05656956v1
AB - 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.
SN - 0004-6361
SN - 1432-0746
ER -