Effect of dilute nitric acid on crystallization and fracture of amorphous solid water films

Thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS) is employed to investigate the effects of dilute HNO3 (0−2.2 mol %) on the crystallization-induced fracture/morphology changes that occur in nanoscale amorphous solid water (ASW) films. Gas uptake measurements (CClF2H) on annealed pure and HNO3-doped films are conducted to investigate changes in film morphology/surface area during annealing and crystallization. These measurements demonstrate that dilute amounts of HNO3 within thin ASW films reduce the extent of film fracture during crystallization and also accelerate crystallization.