Vacuum ultraviolet photoabsorption spectra of an in-situ synthesized peptide precursor: hydroxylamine on a cold astrochemical dust analogue

The recent discovery of hydroxylamine (NH 2 OH) molecule in the interstellar medium emphasizes the need to study the molecule in laboratory astrochemical ice analogues. Here, we present the first vacuum ultraviolet photoabsorption spectrum of hydroxylamine ice synthesized in-situ in an ammonia–oxygen (6:1) ice mixture irradiated by ~ 10 eV photons from synchrotron radiation source. The appearance of a new band between the 180–240 nm, with a band centered at ~ 207 nm, is assigned to the characteristic absorption of hydroxylamine molecule in the ice phase. This band maybe used in ammonia dominated, oxygen bearing, icy surfaces for the identification of hydroxylamine. Graphical abstract