Interstellar catalysis. I

Although it is generaly accepted that most, if not all, of the molecular hydrogen in interstellar space is formed through recombination reactions on grains, the exact mechanism by which this is accomplished is far from certain. In the past, great emphasis had been placed on the physical adsorption of H atoms on cold dielectric grains and their subsequent recombination and desorption as H2 molecules. However, a careful re-examination of the problem leads the author to believe that a rate coefficient of k approximately 10-17 cm3 s-1 - the value usually quoted in the literature - is a very strong overestimate. The same thing can be said for the recombination of H atoms on graphite grains. Since two-body gas phase reactions are not sufficient by themselves to account for the observed abundances of H2, an alternate mechanism must exist. It is suggested that the chemisorption of hydrogen on transition metal grains may be just that formation mechanism. After separating the adsorption rate equations from those of desorption and using experimentally determined parameters, it is shown that transition metal grains can successfully catalyze as much H2 as the theoretical maximum predicted for cold ice grains, even though metal grains are probably less than 10% as abundant (by mass) than dielectrics. (Auth.)