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Low Temperature Formation of Nitrogen-Substituted Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (NPAHs)- Barrierless Routes to Dihydro(iso)quinolines

Journal Article · · The Astrophysical Journal (Online)
 [1];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [3];  [4]
  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. Bay Area Environmental Research Inst., Petaluma, CA (United States)
  4. NASA Ames Research Center (ARC), Moffett Field, Mountain View, CA (United States). Space Science and Astrobiology Division
+ Show Author Affiliations

Meteorites contain bio-relevant molecules such as vitamins and nucleobases, which consist of aromatic structures with embedded nitrogen atoms. Questions remain over the chemical mechanisms responsible for the formation of nitrogen-substituted polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PANHs) in extraterrestrial environments. By exploiting single collision conditions, we show that a radical mediated bimolecular collision between pyridyl radicals and 1,3-butadiene in the gas phase forms nitrogen-substituted polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PANHs) 1,4-dihydroquinoline and to a minor amount 1,4-dihydroisoquinoline. The reaction proceeds through the formation of a van der Waals complex, which circumnavigates the entrance barrier implying it can operate at very low kinetic energy and therefore at low temperatures of 10 K as present in cold molecular clouds such as TMC-1. The discovery of facile de facto barrierless exoergic reaction mechanisms leading to PANH formation could play an important role in providing a population of aromatic structures upon which further photo-processing of ice condensates could occur to form nucleobases.

Research Organization:
Univ. of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES) (SC-22); National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Grant/Contract Number:
FG02-03ER15411
OSTI ID:
1602919
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 22521757
Journal Information:
The Astrophysical Journal (Online), Journal Name: The Astrophysical Journal (Online) Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 815; ISSN 1538-4357
Publisher:
Institute of Physics (IOP)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Cited By (4)

Decomposition of Picolyl Radicals at High Temperature: A Mass Selective Threshold Photoelectron Spectroscopy Study journal November 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
Synthesis of functionalized nitrogen-containing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and other prebiotic compounds in impacting glycine solutions journal January 2019
The effect of heteroatoms in carbonaceous surfaces: computational analysis of H chemisorption on to a PANH and Si-doped PAH journal August 2019

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Related Subjects

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
ISM: molecules
astrochemistry
methods: laboratory: molecular
molecular processes