Study of the polyoxymethylene and its sputtered fragments: Implications for comets

Laboratory mass spectra of sputtered polyoxymethylene (POM) reveals a fragmentation pattern consistent with observed peaks in the PICCA experiment on board the Giotto spacecraft. Both commercially available POM and radiation synthesized POM have been used in the studies. Synthesized POM was identified using infrared absorption spectra after proton irradiation of H2CO ice on silicate grains at 20 K. Laboratory results suggest that similar type sputtering is a possible mechanism for removing species from comet grains.