While carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen have often attracted astrochemical and astrobiological interest, research into their third period analogues—silicon, phosphorus, and sulfur—has been more limited. This presentation highlights research at the W.M. Keck Laboratory in Astrochemistry utilizing ice mixtures containing silane (SiH4), phosphine (PH3), hydrogen sulfide (H2S), and sulfur dioxide (SiO2). Using complimentary analytical techniques such as infrared and UV-visible spectroscopy as well as mass spectrometry, the chemistry of these ices is elucidated to uncover molecules of astrobiological relevance as well as to further understand differences in chemistry between second and third row elements. In particular, reflectron time-of-flight mass spectrometry using tunable photoionization to selectively detect and confirm isomers for observed mass-to-charge ratios was found to be the most valuable technique for identifying products in these irradiated ice analogues.

Laboratory astrophysics beyond the second period: Silicon, phosphorus, and sulfur chemistry in extraterrestrial ices

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ACS Fall 2022

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