Molecular beam studies of kinetic processes in nanoscale water films

Studies of the properties of crystalline ice and amorphous solid water are the focus of considerable diverse and interdisciplinary research. The reasons include understanding heterogeneous atmospheric processes, interstellar and cometary astrophysics, cryobiology, and the physics and chemistry of liquids. In this review we summarize our recent work using nanoscale ice films to characterize the kinetic behavior of crystalline ice and amorphous solid water. The adsorption, desorption, crystallization and diffusion kinetics of the nanoscale films are studies using molecular beam and programmed desorption techniques. The results of these experiments and their implications for the physical properties of nanoscale ice films are presented.