Formation of aminomethanol in ammonia-water interstellar ice

Aminomethanol is an important precursor of interstellar glycine. A two-step formation pathway has been proposed for aminomethanol in interstellar ice via reaction between CH+, NH3 mixed water ice and OH radical. The ice model is built using cluster approach that employs one NH3 and 11 water molecules to simulate NH3 mixed water ice. Density functional theory at B2PLYPD/6-311++G(2d, p) level of theory is utilized to explore the proposed pathway. Our proposed pathway is found to be very efficient in the ice owing to the low entrance barrier of ca. 1.443 kcal mol(-1). It is also observed that CH2NH is the starting reactant in our proposed root for aminomethanol; thus, if discussed formation root is applicable, the abundance of CH2NH is a direct indicator for the presence of aminomethanol.

Automated summary

Aminomethanol is an important precursor of interstellar glycine, and a two-step formation pathway has been proposed for its formation in interstellar ice. The study found that the proposed pathway is efficient in ice, with CH2NH identified as the starting reactant for aminomethanol.