Infrared Spectroscopy of Neutral and Cationic Sumanene (C₂₁H₁₂ & C₂₁H₁₂ ⁺) in the Gas Phase: Implications for Interstellar Aromatic Infrared Bands (AIBs).

ABSTRACT: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are known to be omnipresent in various astronomical sources. Ever since the discovery of C₆₀ and C₇₀ fullerenes in a young planetary nebula in 2010, uncovering the reaction pathways between PAHs and fullerenes has been one of the primary goals in astrochemistry. Several laboratory studies have attempted to elucidate these pathways through experiments simulating top-down and bottom-up chemistry. Recently, indene (c-C₉H₈, a fused pentagon and hexagonal ring) has been detected in the TMC-1 molecular cloud. This is a significant finding since pentagon-bearing PAHs could be key intermediates in the formation of fullerenes in space. Spectroscopic studies of pentagon-bearing PAHs are thus essential for their detec

SUBMITTER: Sundararajan P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12010423 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature