Degradation of vitamin C by low-energy electrons

We report on the degradation of gas phase vitamin C (ascorbic acid, AA) induced by low-energy electrons. In the energy range of (0–12) eV, different negatively charged fragments, attributed to the dehydro-ascorbic acid anion ((AA–H)⁻), OH⁻, O⁻ and H⁻, are observed. The yield functions indicate that these ions are formed via dissociative electron attachment, DEA. While the formation of (AA–H)⁻ is exclusively observed at sub-excitation energies (<1.5 eV), the other fragments arise from resonance features at higher energies. Possible implications of these observations for radiation damage and food treatment by high energy radiation are considered.