Influence of temperature on the structure and crystallinity of Benzene ice

Benzene is ubiquitous across various regions in the Universe. In some regions, such as dense molecular clouds and some planetary bodies, vapour deposition of gas onto a cold surface is one of the formation mechanisms of Benzene ice. Very little is known about the properties and structure of Benzene ice, with some limited crystallography studies showing that Benzene has a herringbone structure. Using NIMROD, we will determine the larger-scale structure (porosity, surface area etc.) and properties of Benzene ice, as well as directly probe the amorphous-to-crystalline transition upon annealing. Four Benzene ice samples will be created using the dedicated bin/CCR/dosing system at deposition temperatures of 30, 50, 90 and 100 K (for applications across planetary bodies and the interstellar medium) and each will be annealed to 180 K to study each phase transition until desorption.