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

Title: Synthesis of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons by Phenyl Addition–Dehydrocyclization: The Third Way

Journal Article · · Angewandte Chemie (International Edition)

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) represent the link between resonance-stabilized free radicals and carbonaceous nanoparticles generated in incomplete combustion processes and in circumstellar envelopes of carbon rich asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars. While these PAHs resemble building blocks of complex carbonaceous nanostructures, their fundamental formation mechanisms have remained elusive. By investigating these reaction mechanisms of the phenyl radical with biphenyl/naphthalene theoretically and experimentally, we provide compelling evidence on a novel phenyl-addition/dehydrocyclization (PAC) pathway leading to prototype PAHs: triphenylene and fluoranthene. PAC operates efficiently at high temperatures leading through rapid molecular mass growth processes to complex aromatic structures, which are difficult to synthesize by traditional pathways such as hydrogen-abstraction/acetylene-addition. The elucidation of the fundamental reactions leading to PAHs is necessary to facilitate an understanding of the origin and evolution of the molecular universe and of carbon in our galaxy.

Research Organization:
Univ. of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI (United States); University of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Chemical Sciences, Geosciences, and Biosciences Division
Grant/Contract Number:
FG02-03ER15411; AC02-05CH11231
OSTI ID:
1603229
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1570522; OSTI ID: 1608275
Journal Information:
Angewandte Chemie (International Edition), Vol. 58, Issue 48; ISSN 1433-7851
Publisher:
WileyCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 40 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

References (41)

Perturbative corrections to account for triple excitations in closed and open shell coupled cluster theories journal September 1994
Pyrene synthesis in circumstellar envelopes and its role in the formation of 2D nanostructures journal March 2018
Interstellar Chemistry:  A Strategy for Detecting Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Space journal March 2005
Kinetic modeling study of benzene and PAH formation in laminar methane flames journal May 2015
Evaluated Kinetic Data for Combustion Modelling journal May 1992
Synthesis of urea in cometary model ices and implications for Comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko journal January 2016
A VUV Photoionization Study of the Formation of the Indene Molecule and Its Isomers journal June 2011
Density‐functional thermochemistry. II. The effect of the Perdew–Wang generalized‐gradient correlation correction journal December 1992
Physical properties of fullerene-containing Galactic planetary nebulae journal December 2013
Resonance-stabilized hydrocarbon-radical chain reactions may explain soot inception and growth journal September 2018
The molecular universe journal July 2013
Low-temperature formation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in Titan’s atmosphere journal October 2018
Combustion chemistry probed by synchrotron VUV photoionization mass spectrometry journal January 2013
Hydrogen Abstraction/Acetylene Addition Revealed journal June 2014
Coupled cluster theory for high spin, open shell reference wave functions journal October 1993
A full coupled‐cluster singles and doubles model: The inclusion of disconnected triples journal February 1982
Detection of Buckminsterfullerene in Usual Soots and Commercial Charcoals journal March 1999
Photoelectron spectra of polynuclear aromatics. III. The effect of nonplanarity in sterically overcrowded aromatic hydrocarbons journal June 1974
XXX.—A rule for determining whether a given benzene mono-derivative shall give a meta-di-derivative or a mixture of ortho- and para-di-derivatives journal January 1892
Hydrogen-Abstraction/Acetylene-Addition Exposed journal October 2016
Kinetic study of the formation of triphenylene from the condensation of C12H10+C6H5 journal April 2012
The Infrared Spectrum of Protonated Naphthalene and its Relevance for the Unidentified Infrared Bands journal August 2009
Unexpected Chemistry from the Reaction of Naphthyl and Acetylene at Combustion-Like Temperatures journal March 2015
HACA's Heritage: A Free-Radical Pathway to Phenanthrene in Circumstellar Envelopes of Asymptotic Giant Branch Stars journal March 2017
Density‐functional thermochemistry. I. The effect of the exchange‐only gradient correction journal February 1992
Hydrogen Abstraction/Acetylene Addition Revealed journal June 2014
Time-Dependent Mass Spectra and Breakdown Graphs. 19. Fluoranthene journal July 1995
VUV Photoionization Study of the Formation of the Simplest Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon: Naphthalene (C 10 H 8 ) journal May 2018
HACA's Heritage: A Free-Radical Pathway to Phenanthrene in Circumstellar Envelopes of Asymptotic Giant Branch Stars journal March 2017
Role of Phenyl Radicals in the Growth of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons journal March 2008
Interstellar Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Molecules journal September 2008
Hydrogen-Abstraction/Acetylene-Addition Exposed journal October 2016
Charged polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon clusters and the galactic extended red emission journal March 2007
A detailed kinetic modeling study of aromatics formation in laminar premixed acetylene and ethylene flames journal July 1997
Unexpected Chemistry from the Reaction of Naphthyl and Acetylene at Combustion-Like Temperatures journal March 2015
Formation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in circumstellar envelopes journal June 1989
Photoelectron spectra of p-terphenyl in gaseous and solid states journal November 1975
Water acting as a catalyst for electron-driven molecular break-up of tetrahydrofuran journal May 2020
Physical Properties of Fullerene-containing Galactic Planetary Nebulae
  • Otsuka, Masaaki; Kemper, Ciska; Cami, Jan
  • Proceedings of The Life Cycle of Dust in the Universe: Observations, Theory, and Laboratory Experiments — PoS(LCDU2013) https://doi.org/10.22323/1.207.0127
conference June 2014
Development of the Colle-Salvetti correlation-energy formula into a functional of the electron density text January 1988
The Molecular Universe journal June 2011

Cited By (1)

Low-temperature Formation of Carbonaceous Dust Grains from PAHs journal January 2020