Quantifying acetaldehyde in astronomical ices and laboratory analogues: IR spectra, intensities, 13C shifts, and radiation chemistry

Acetaldehyde is of interest to astrochemists for its relevance to both interstellar and cometary chemistry, but little infrared (IR) spectral data have been published for the solid phases of this compound. Here we present IR spectra of three forms of solid acetaldehyde, with spectra for one form being published for the first time. Direct measurements of band strengths and absorption coefficients also are reported for the first time for amorphous aldehyde, the form of greatest interest for astrochemical work. An acetaldehyde band strength at ~1350 cm^-1 that has been used as a reference for about 20 years is seen to be in error by about 80% when compared to the direct measurements presented here. Spectra and peak positions also are presented for H¹³C(O)¹³CH₃, and then used for the first identification of ketene as a radiation product of solid acetaldehyde.