Surface science studies of the coverage dependent adsorption of methyl acetate and methyl propanoate on graphite.

Complex organic molecules (COMs) have been detected in a wide range of astrophysical environments, including the interstellar medium, comets and proto-planetary disks. The icy mantles that form on dust grains in these environments are thought to be the chemical nurseries that allow the formation of many of the COMs that have been identified. As such, the adsorption, thermal processing and desorption of COMs from dust grain surfaces are important in understanding the astrochemical networks as a whole.