Study of Chemical compounds on the Surface of Ice

                                J. Krausko, G. Ondrušková, D. Heger

  RECETOX and Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 625 00
                                       Brno, Czech Republic


The cryosphere accommodates a rich variety of chemical compounds, either those naturally occurring
or anthropogenic imported via long-range transport. Natural ice and snow is a huge environmental
reactor facilitating (photo-)chemical transformations of these compounds.[1-3] Despite the effort
of scientific community,[2] many questions remain opened.[4] The obtained results are sometimes
contradictory, which can be exemplified on the observed rates of photo-degradation of impurities
(e. g. benzene) on ice.[5, 6] The shift of the absorption spectrum of benzene (from UV to visible
region) was suggested to explain an increase in the rate of photolysis of benzene on ice. In our
research, the laboratory-based experiments were performed to answer two conflicting problems:
possible spectral shift of organic compounds at ice surfaces, and the extent of aggregation. We
apply photo physical spectroscopic methods and environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) to
investigate the model ice-impurities systems. In my talk, I will present the results of our most
recent research into the ice impurities segregation, excimer formation and energy transfer in
frozen environments.[7-10] The implications for environmental ices will be drawn.


1.             Grannas, A.M., et al., An overview of snow photochemistry: evidence, mechanisms and
impacts. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 2007. 7(16): p. 4329-4373.

2.             McNeill, V.F., et al., Organics in environmental ices: sources, chemistry, and
impacts. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 2012. 12(20): p. 9653-9678.

3.             Klan, P., et al., Photochemical activity of organic compounds in ice induced by
sunlight irradiation: The Svalbard project. Geophysical Research Letters, 2003. 30(6).

4.             Bartels-Rausch, T., Ten things we need to know about ice and snow. Nature, 2013.
494(7435): p. 27-29.

5.             Kahan, T.F. and D.J. Donaldson, Benzene Photolysis on Ice: Implications for the Fate
of Organic Contaminants in the Winter. Environmental Science & Technology, 2010. 44(10): p.
3819-3824.

6.             Ram, K. and C. Anastasio, Photochemistry of phenanthrene, pyrene, and fluoranthene
in ice and snow. Atmospheric Environment, 2009. 43(14): p. 2252-2259.

7.             Heger, D., et al., Self-Organization of 1-Methylnaphthalene on the Surface of
Artificial Snow Grains: A Combined Experimental–Computational Approach. Journal of Physical
Chemistry A, 2011. 115(41): p. 11412-11422.

8.             Kania, R., et al., Spectroscopic Properties of Benzene at the Air-Ice Interface: A
Combined Experimental-Computational Approach. Journal of Physical Chemistry A, 2014. 118(35): p.
7535-7547.

9.             Krausko, J., et al., Spectroscopic Properties of Naphthalene on the Surface of Ice
Grains Revisited: A Combined Experimental Computational Approach. Journal of Physical Chemistry A,
2015. 119(32): p. 8565-8578.

10.           Krausko, J., et al., Observation of a Brine Layer on an Ice Surface with an
Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope at Higher Pressures and Temperatures. Langmuir, 2014.
30(19): p. 5441-5447.