Related papers: Gas-phase formation of fullerene/9-hydroxyfluorene…
Besides buckminsterfullerene (C60), other fullerenes and their derivatives may also reside in space. In this work, we study the formation and photo-dissociation processes of astronomically relevant fullerene/anthracene (C14H10) cluster…
The formation and evolution mechanism of fullerenes in the planetary nebula or in the interstellar medium are still not understood. Here we present the study on the cluster formation and the relative reactivity of fullerene cations (from…
The fullerene C$_{60}$, one of the largest molecules identified in the interstellar medium (ISM), has been proposed to form top-down through the photo-chemical processing of large (more than 60 C-atoms) polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)…
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and fullerenes play a major role in the physics and chemistry of the interstellar medium. Based on a number of recent experimental and theoretical investigations we developed a model in which PAHs are…
To investigate the gas-phase hydrogenation processes of large, astronomically relevant cationic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) molecules under the interstellar environments, the ion-molecule collision reaction between six PAH cations…
Fullerenes are a particularly stable class of carbon molecules in the shape of a hollow sphere or ellipsoid that might be formed in the outflows of carbon stars. Once injected into the interstellar medium (ISM), these stable species survive…
Interstellar molecules are thought to build up in the shielded environment of molecular clouds or in the envelope of evolved stars. This follows many sequential reaction steps of atoms and simple molecules in the gas phase and/or on (icy)…
[Abridged] Fullerenes have been recently detected in various circumstellar and interstellar environments, raising the question of their formation pathway. It has been proposed that they can form by the photo-chemical processing of large…
The high interstellar abundances of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and their size distribution are the result of complex chemical processes implying dust, UV radiation, and the main gaseous components (H, C+, and O). These…
Small organic molecules are thought to provide building blocks for the formation of complex interstellar polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). However, the underlying chemical mechanisms remain unclear, particularly concerning the role…
In this work, we study the photodissociation processes of small PAH clusters (e.g., pyrene clusters). The experiments are carried out using a quadrupole ion trap in combination with time-of-flight (QIT-TOF) mass spectrometry. The results…
Transformation of amorphous carbon clusters into fullerenes under high temperature is studied using molecular dynamics simulations at microsecond times. Based on the analysis of both structure and energy of the system, it is found that…
Two key questions of the chemistry of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the interstellar medium (ISM) are addressed: i) the way carbon is returned from PAHs to the interstellar gas after the very efficient accretion of C+ ions onto…
Hydrogen depleted environments are considered an essential requirement for the formation of fullerenes. The recent detection of C60 and C70 fullerenes in what was interpreted as the hydrogen-poor inner region of a post-final helium shell…
Carbonaceous grains represent a major component of cosmic dust. In order to understand their formation pathways, they have been prepared in the laboratory by gas-phase condensation reactions such as laser pyrolysis and laser ablation. Our…
Recently, the presence of fullerenes in the interstellar medium (ISM) has been confirmed especially with the first confirmed identification of two strong diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) with C60+. This justifies reassesing the importance…
Fullerenes have recently been identified in space and they may play a significant role in the gas and dust budget of various astrophysical objects including planetary nebulae (PNe), reflection nebulae (RNe) and H II regions. The tenuous…
Propyl cyanide (PrCN) (C3H7CN) with both linear and branched isomers is ubiquitous in interstellar space and is important for astrochemistry as it is one of the most complex molecules found to date in the interstellar medium. Furthermore,…
Dimethyl ether is one of the most abundant interstellar complex organic molecules. Yet its formation route remains elusive. In this work, we have performed electronic structure and kinetics calculations to derive the rate coefficients for…
The aromatic molecule benzene is considered the essential building block for larger polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in space. Despite benzene's importance in the formation of PAHs, the formation mechanisms of interstellar benzene…