Brotherton, Emma E., Chan, Derek H. H., Armes, Steven P., Janani, Ronak, Sammon, Chris, Wills, Jess, Tandy, Jon D., Burchell, Mark J., Wozniakiewicz, Penelope J., Alesbrook, Luke Stephen, and others. (2024) Synthesis of phenanthrene/pyrene hybrid microparticles: useful synthetic mimics for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-based cosmic dust. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 146 (30). pp. 20802-20813. ISSN 0002-7863. E-ISSN 1520-5126. (doi:10.1021/jacs.4c04330) (KAR id:106692)
PDF
Publisher pdf
Language: English
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
|
|
Download this file (PDF/8MB) |
Preview |
Request a format suitable for use with assistive technology e.g. a screenreader | |
Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.4c04330 |
Abstract
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are found throughout the interstellar medium and are important markers for the evolution of galaxies and both star and planet formation. They are also widely regarded as a major source of carbon, which has implications in the search for extraterrestrial life. Herein we construct a melting point phase diagram for a series of phenanthrene/pyrene binary mixtures to identify the eutectic composition (75 mol % phenanthrene) and its melting point (83 °C). The molten oil obtained on heating this eutectic composition to 90 °C in aqueous solution is homogenized in the presence of a water-soluble polymeric emulsifier. On cooling to 20 °C, polydisperse spherical phenanthrene/pyrene hybrid microparticles are obtained. Varying the stirring rate and emulsifier type enables the mean microparticle diameter to be adjusted from 11 to 279 μm. Importantly, the phenanthrene content of individual microparticles remains constant during processing, as expected for the eutectic composition. These new hybrid microparticles form impact craters and undergo partial fragmentation when fired into a metal target at 1 km s–1 using a light gas gun. When fired into an aerogel target at the same speed, microparticles are located at the ends of characteristic “carrot tracks”. Autofluorescence is observed in both types of experiments, which at first sight suggests minimal degradation. However, Raman microscopy analysis of the aerogel-captured microparticles indicates prominent pyrene signals but no trace of the more volatile phenanthrene component. Such differential ablation during aerogel capture is expected to inform the in situ analysis of PAH-rich cosmic dust in future space missions.
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
DOI/Identification number: | 10.1021/jacs.4c04330 |
Additional information: | For the purpose of open access, the author has applied a CC BY public copyright licence to any Author Accepted Manuscript version arising from this submission. |
Uncontrolled keywords: | aerogels; aromatic compounds; hydrocarbons; microparticles; microscopy |
Subjects: | Q Science |
Divisions: |
Divisions > Division of Natural Sciences > Physics and Astronomy Divisions > Division of Natural Sciences > Chemistry and Forensics |
Funders: |
Leverhulme Trust (https://ror.org/012mzw131)
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (https://ror.org/0439y7842) Science and Technology Facilities Council (https://ror.org/057g20z61) |
SWORD Depositor: | JISC Publications Router |
Depositing User: | JISC Publications Router |
Date Deposited: | 29 Jul 2024 13:36 UTC |
Last Modified: | 02 Aug 2024 02:42 UTC |
Resource URI: | https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/106692 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes) |
- Link to SensusAccess
- Export to:
- RefWorks
- EPrints3 XML
- BibTeX
- CSV
- Depositors only (login required):