Model validation of the CH3O + HDCO reaction’s role in methanol deuteration

Develop and evaluate astrochemical ice-chemistry models that incorporate the grain-surface reaction CH3O + HDCO → CH3OH + HCO at 10–16 K to test whether this pathway preferentially deuterates the methyl group and elevates the CH2DOH/CH3OD ratio in prestellar cores.

Background

Laboratory experiments indicate that methanol can form via CH3O + H2CO → CH3OH + HCO and that substituting HDCO preferentially deuterates the CH3-group, potentially increasing CH2DOH relative to CH3OD.

Although this pathway would plausibly enhance the CH2DOH/CH3OD ratio at the prestellar stage, its quantitative impact has not yet been tested within astrochemical modeling frameworks.