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Gas Phase Synthesis of (Iso)Quinoline and Its Role in the Formation of Nucleobases in the Interstellar Medium

Journal Article · · The Astrophysical Journal (Online)
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [3];  [3];  [4];  [5]
  1. Univ. of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI (United States); University of Hawaii at Manoa
  2. Univ. of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI (United States)
  3. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
  4. Florida International Univ., Miami, FL (United States)
  5. Univ. of Leiden, Leiden (The Netherlands)

Nitrogen-substituted polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (NPAHs) have been proposed to play a key role in the astrochemical evolution of the interstellar medium, yet the formation mechanisms of even their simplest prototypes—quinoline and isoquinoline—remain elusive. Here, we reveal a novel concept that under high temperature conditions representing circumstellar envelopes of carbon stars, (iso)quinoline can be synthesized via the reaction of pyridyl radicals with two acetylene molecules. The facile gas phase formation of (iso)quinoline in circumstellar envelopes defines a hitherto elusive reaction class synthesizing aromatic structures with embedded nitrogen atoms that are essential building blocks in contemporary biological-structural motifs. Once ejected from circumstellar shells and incorporated into icy interstellar grains in cold molecular clouds, these NPAHs can be functionalized by photo processing forming nucleobase-type structures as sampled in the Murchison meteorite.

Research Organization:
Univ. of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES) (SC-22)
Grant/Contract Number:
FG02-03ER15411
OSTI ID:
1602877
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 22522505
Journal Information:
The Astrophysical Journal (Online), Journal Name: The Astrophysical Journal (Online) Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 803; ISSN 1538-4357
Publisher:
Institute of Physics (IOP)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Cited By (8)

Valence Photoionization of Thymine: Ionization Energies, Vibrational Structure, and Fragmentation Pathways from the Slow to the Ultrafast journal October 2019
On the formation and the isomer specific detection of methylacetylene (CH 3 CCH), propene (CH 3 CHCH 2 ), cyclopropane (c-C 3 H 6 ), vinylacetylene (CH 2 CHCCH), and 1,3-butadiene (CH 2 CHCHCH 2 ) from interstellar methane ice analogues journal January 2019
Nitrogen matters: the difference between PANH and PAH formation journal January 2018
Isoquinoline gas-phase absorption spectrum in the vacuum ultraviolet between 3.7 and 10.7 eV. New valence and Rydberg electronic states journal January 2019
Synthesis of functionalized nitrogen-containing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and other prebiotic compounds in impacting glycine solutions journal January 2019
Variations in the 6.2 μm emission profile in starburst-dominated galaxies: a signature of polycyclic aromatic nitrogen heterocycles (PANHs)? journal January 2018
Valence Photoionization of Thymine: Ionization Energies, Vibrational Structure, and Fragmentation Pathways from the Slow to the Ultrafast text January 2019
Variations in the 6.2 $μ$m emission profile in starburst-dominated galaxies: a signature of polycyclic aromatic nitrogen heterocycles (PANHs)? text January 2017

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