Low Energy Electron Scattering from Formic Acid

Formic acid (HCOOH) is the simplest of the organic acids and it is thought that it could play a key role in the formation of simple biomolecules such as glycine and acetic acid in the interstellar medium. We have studied elastic electron scattering from formic acid using a crossed-beam electron spectrometer. Absolute cross sections are obtained using the relative flow technique. Flow rates for HCOOH, and the reference gas He, are measured at a number of temperatures, including both room temperature and 70$^{\circ}$C, in order to investigate the effects of molecular dimers which are thought to dominate at room temperature. Measurements at energies in the range 10-50 eV will be presented at the meeting and compared, where possible, with recent theoretical calculations.