The periodic-Hartree-Fock method is used in order to determine adsorption s
ites of formaldehyde and acetone on ice surfaces. For both molecules, at mo
nolayer coverage, one minimum energy configuration is found: it corresponds
to hydrogen bonding of the CO group with a ice surface dangling OH. In the
particular case of formaldehyde, a second stable configuration is obtained
: this minimum energy is due to adsorbate-substrate electrostatic interacti
ons. These results are in good agreement with experimental data on acetone.
Tests are made to explore the role of defects on the ice surface. (C) 2001
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