1,136,206 research outputs found
Cosmic-ray-mediated Formation of Benzene on the Surface of Saturn's Moon Titan
The aromatic benzene molecule (C_6H_6)—a central building block of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon molecules—is of crucial importance for the understanding of the organic chemistry of Saturn's largest moon, Titan. Here, we show via laboratory experiments and electronic structure calculations that the benzene molecule can be formed on Titan's surface in situ via non-equilibrium chemistry by cosmic-ray processing of low-temperature acetylene (C_2H_2) ices. The actual yield of benzene depends strongly on the surface coverage. We suggest that the cosmic-ray-mediated chemistry on Titan's surface could be the dominant source of benzene, i.e., a factor of at least two orders of magnitude higher compared to previously modeled precipitation rates, in those regions of the surface which have a high surface coverage of acetylene
Gas-grain chemistry in cold interstellar cloud cores with a microscopic Monte Carlo approach to surface chemistry
AIM: We have recently developed a microscopic Monte Carlo approach to study
surface chemistry on interstellar grains and the morphology of ice mantles. The
method is designed to eliminate the problems inherent in the rate-equation
formalism to surface chemistry. Here we report the first use of this method in
a chemical model of cold interstellar cloud cores that includes both gas-phase
and surface chemistry. The surface chemical network consists of a small number
of diffusive reactions that can produce molecular oxygen, water, carbon
dioxide, formaldehyde, methanol and assorted radicals. METHOD: The simulation
is started by running a gas-phase model including accretion onto grains but no
surface chemistry or evaporation. The starting surface consists of either flat
or rough olivine. We introduce the surface chemistry of the three species H, O
and CO in an iterative manner using our stochastic technique. Under the
conditions of the simulation, only atomic hydrogen can evaporate to a
significant extent. Although it has little effect on other gas-phase species,
the evaporation of atomic hydrogen changes its gas-phase abundance, which in
turn changes the flux of atomic hydrogen onto grains. The effect on the surface
chemistry is treated until convergence occurs. We neglect all non-thermal
desorptive processes. RESULTS: We determine the mantle abundances of assorted
molecules as a function of time through 2x10^5 yr. Our method also allows
determination of the abundance of each molecule in specific monolayers. The
mantle results can be compared with observations of water, carbon dioxide,
carbon monoxide, and methanol ices in the sources W33A and Elias 16. Other than
a slight underproduction of mantle CO, our results are in very good agreement
with observations.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures, to be published in A. &
Water formation on bare grains: When the chemistry on dust impacts interstellar gas
Context. Water together with O2 are important gas phase ingredients to cool
dense gas in order to form stars. On dust grains, H2 O is an important
constituent of the icy mantle in which a complex chemistry is taking place, as
revealed by hot core observations. The formation of water can occur on dust
grain surfaces, and can impact gas phase composition. Aims. The formation of
molecules such as OH, H2 O, HO2, H2 O2, as well as their deuterated forms and
O2 and O3 is studied in order to assess how the chemistry varies in different
astrophysical environments, and how the gas phase is affected by grain surface
chemistry. Methods. We use Monte Carlo simulations to follow the formation of
molecules on bare grains as well as the fraction of molecules released into the
gas phase. We consider a surface reaction network, based on gas phase
reactions, as well as UV photo-dissociation of the chemical species. Results.
We show that grain surface chemistry has a strong impact on gas phase
chemistry, and that this chemistry is very different for different dust grain
temperatures. Low temperatures favor hydrogenation, while higher temperatures
favor oxygenation. Also, UV photons dissociate the molecules on the surface,
that can reform subsequently. The formation-destruction cycle increases the
amount of species released into the gas phase. We also determine the time
scales to form ices in diffuse and dense clouds, and show that ices are formed
only in shielded environments, as supported by observations.Comment: Accepted in A&
Amine-terminated nanoparticle films: pattern deposition by a simple nanostencilling technique and stability studies under X-ray irradiation
Exploring the surface chemistry of nanopatterned amine-terminated nanoparticle films.</p
Morphological growth of sputtered MoS2 films
Sputtered MoS2 films from 300 A to 20,000 A thick were deposited on metal and glass surfaces. The substrate effects such as surface temperature, finish, pretreatment and chemistry as they affect the film formation characteristics were investigated by optical, electron transmission, electron diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy. Substrate temperature and surface chemistry were found to be the prime variables as to the formation of a crystalline or amorphous film. The friction characteristics are strictly influenced by the type of film formed. Surface chemistry and surface pretreatment account for compound formation and corresponding grain growth, which directly affect the adhesion characteristics, resulting in poor adherence. The type of surface finish (topography) as related to scratches, impurities, inhomogeneities, etc., are favorable nucleation sites for the growth of isolated and complex nodules within the film, and various complex surface overgrowths on the film. These nodular growth features have progressively more undesirable effects on the film behavior as the film thickness increases
Study of surfaces and interfaces using quantum chemistry techniques
There are a number of difficulties in elucidating the microscopic details of the electronic states at surfaces and interfaces. The first step should be to determine the structure at the surface or interface, but this is difficult experimentally even for the clean, ordered surface and extremely difficult for cases with impurity atoms (e.g., nonordered oxide layers). The theoretical study of such geometries and energy surfaces is the subject of quantum chemistry. We present a review of some of the theoretical techniques from quantum chemistry that are being applied to surfaces. The procedure consists of treating a finite piece of the surface or interface as a molecule. Ab initio calculations are then carried out on the molecule using the generalized valence bond (GVB) method (with additional configuration interaction), thereby incorporating the dominant many‐body effects. The reliability of these techniques is discussed by giving some examples from molecular chemistry and the surfaces of solids. The strengths and weaknesses of this approach are compared with more traditional band theory related methods and are illustrated with various examples
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