Estimation of the reaction rate for the formation of CH3O from H + H2CO: implications for chemistry in the Solar System.

It is argued that the formation of the methoxy radical (CH3O) from H + H2CO may play an essential role in the reduction of CO to CH4. The rate coefficient for this reaction has been estimated using the approximate theory of J. Troe (1977a, J. Chem. Phys. 66, 4745) and transition state theory. We briefly discuss the implications of this reaction for the chemistry of CO on Jupiter, in the solar nebula, for interpreting the laboratory experiments of A. Bar-Nun and A. Shaviv (1975, Icarus 24, 197) and A. Bar-Nun and S. Chang (1983, J. Geophys. Res. 88, 6662) and for organic synthesis in the prebiotic terrestrial atmosphere.