Carbon Atom Reactivity with Amorphous Solid Water: HO-Catalyzed Formation of HCO.

We report new computational and experimental evidence of an efficient and astrochemically relevant formation route to formaldehyde (HCO). This simplest carbonylic compound is central to the formation of complex organics in cold interstellar clouds and is generally regarded to be formed by the hydrogenation of solid-state carbon monoxide. We demonstrate HCO formation the reaction of carbon atoms with amorphous solid water.