Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
1765710 | Advances in Space Research | 2009 | 8 Pages |
Abstract
Silicates constitute an important class of interstellar grain material and are the site of catalytic activities, most notably the formation of molecular hydrogen. Here we report an analysis of experiments conducted in the laboratory to measure the efficiency of formation of molecular hydrogen on amorphous silicates, a realistic analogue of interstellar dust grains. From the measurements, we also obtain the energetics of key processes in the reaction and information on the mechanism of reaction. Comparison with earlier measurements of molecular hydrogen formation on a sample of polycrystalline olivine shows that amorphous materials are more efficient catalysts.
Keywords
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Earth and Planetary Sciences
Space and Planetary Science
Authors
Gianfranco Vidali, Ling Li, Joseph E. Roser, Ryan Badman,