skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: SPECTRA AND PHOTOLYSIS OF PURE NITROGEN AND METHANE DISPERSED IN SOLID NITROGEN WITH VACUUM-ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT

Journal Article · · Astrophysical Journal
; ; ; ; ;  [1];  [2]
  1. National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center, No. 101, Hsin-Ann Road, Hsinchu Science Park, Hsinchu 30076, Taiwan (China)
  2. Space Science Center and Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089 (United States)

Vacuum-ultraviolet light from a synchrotron was applied to record absorption spectra in the region of 105-170 nm with a resolution of 0.2 nm and for the photolysis of pure solid N{sub 2} and CH{sub 4} dispersed in solid N{sub 2} (CH{sub 4}/N{sub 2} = 1/100 for absorption and 1/500 for photolysis) at 20 K. After photolysis of the icy samples at wavelengths 130 nm (9.5 eV), 121.6 nm (10.2 eV), and 91.6 nm (13.5 eV), infrared absorption features of products N{sub 3}, C{sub n} N (n = 1-3), CN{sub 2}, (CN){sub 2}, HCN{sub 2}, HC{sub 2}N, C(NH){sub 2}, HN{sub 3}, HNC, HCN, HCCNH{sup +}, and NCCN{sup +} were identified. We investigated the dependence on wavelength of the formation of these products and their column densities of formation. We also studied the ratio of the column densities of HCN and HNC as a function of photolysis wavelength and duration of irradiation. The mechanisms of formation of the main products are discussed. Our results have implications for the radiatively assisted syntheses of nitrile molecules in the interstellar medium and on icy surfaces of planets and satellites in the solar system.

OSTI ID:
22011653
Journal Information:
Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 746, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English