Thermal desorption measurement of cross section for reactions in condensed acetaldehyde induced by low-energy electrons

Thermal desorption spectrometry (TDS) is used to measure cross sections for reactions induced in condensed thin films of acetaldehyde by low-energy electrons at an incident energy of 15 eV. This method permits the clear identification of products formed after exposure to electrons and concomitantly enables to deduce the cross section for their formation. Electron exposure causes degradation of acetaldehyde with a cross section of (1.7 ± 0.1) × 10−16 cm2. Cross sections for formation of CO, methane, and propionaldehyde were obtained as (7.4 ± 0.9) × 10−17 cm2, (6.6 ± 1.2) × 10−18 cm2, and (6.2 ± 1.4) × 10−18 cm2. These values are in reasonable agreement with cross sections obtained previously for similar samples by other methods.