scholarly journals Using Laboratory Investigations to Aid the Identification of Small Aromatic Molecules in Water-Containing Astrophysical Ices

Author(s):  
Tara L. Salter ◽  
James W. Stubbing ◽  
Lorna Brigham ◽  
Wendy A. Brown

Monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzene, toluene and xylene are thought to play an important role as precursors to the formation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and their methylated counterparts in a range of astrophysical environments. Benzene has been detected in two carbon rich objects and models have predicted that it could also be present in the interstellar medium (ISM). It has hence been speculated that small aromatic molecules are present in molecular clouds in the ISM, although they have not been detected to date. If they are present in the ISM, they are likely to exist in water-ice dominated icy mantles on the surface of dust grains.We present a laboratory study of benzene, toluene and two xylene isomers (ortho- and para-xylene) in the presence of water ice on a carbonaceous model dust grain surface (highly oriented pyrolytic graphite, HOPG). Temperature programmed desorption (TPD) shows how the desorption of the molecules is affected by the presence of water ice. The importance of these data for astrophysical situations is demonstrated by the use of TPD-derived kinetic parameters to generate a simple model of desorption in dense molecular clouds on an astrophysical timescale. Since benzene, toluene and xylene have not been detected in water-dominated icy mantles to date, desorption has been simulated in a range of different water-containing environments to show the different behaviour expected depending on ice composition. The simulations demonstrate how future observations of aromatic molecules in dense molecular clouds at known temperatures could reveal which environments the molecules are in. Data from these experiments are also used to predict the behaviour of other, larger, aromatic molecules such as PAHs. Reflection absorption infrared spectroscopy (RAIRS) is also used to record the infrared spectra of the small molecules in different water ice configurations. These spectra can be used to aid identification of these icy aromatics in future observations, such as those that will be possible with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). In all cases, spectra of mixed ices consisting of the aromatic molecule and amorphous water ice show evidence of interactions between the water ice and the aromatic species.

2017 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
pp. 116-120
Author(s):  
Iuliean Vasile Asaftei ◽  
Neculai Catalin Lungu ◽  
Lucian Mihail Birsa ◽  
Ioan Gabriel Sandu ◽  
Laura Gabriela Sarbu ◽  
...  

The conversion of n-heptanes into aromatic hydrocarbons benzene, toluene and xylenes (BTX), by the chromatographic pulse method in the temperature range of 673 - 823K was performed over the HZSM-5 and Ag-HZSM-5 zeolites modified by ion exchange with AgNO3 aqueous solutions. The catalysts, HZSM-5 (SiO2/Al2O3 = 33.9), and Ag-HZSM-5 (Ag1-HZSM-5 wt. % Ag1.02, Ag2-HZSM-5 wt. % Ag 1.62; and Ag3-HZSM-5 wt. % Ag 2.05 having different acid strength distribution exhibit a conversion and a yield of aromatics depending on temperature and metal content. The yield of aromatic hydrocarbons BTX appreciably increased by incorporating silver cations Ag+ into HZSM-5.


In the first paper of this series (Burgoyne 1937) the kinetics of the isothermal oxidation above 400° C of several aromatic hydrocarbons was studied. The present communication extends this work to include the phenomena of ignition in the same temperature range, whilst the corresponding reactions below 400° C form the subject of further investigations now in progress. The hydrocarbons at present under consideration are benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, n -propylbenzene, o-, m - and p -xylenes and mesitylene.


2001 ◽  
Vol 183 (18) ◽  
pp. 5441-5444 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hikaru Suenaga ◽  
Mariko Mitsuoka ◽  
Yuko Ura ◽  
Takahito Watanabe ◽  
Kensuke Furukawa

ABSTRACT Biphenyl dioxygenase (Bph Dox) catalyzes the initial oxygenation of biphenyl and related compounds. Bph Dox is a multicomponent enzyme in which a large subunit (encoded by the bphA1 gene) is significantly responsible for substrate specificity. By using the process of DNA shuffling of bphA1 of Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes KF707 and Burkholderia cepaciaLB400, a number of evolved Bph Dox enzymes were created. Among them, anEscherichia coli clone expressing chimeric Bph Dox exhibited extremely enhanced benzene-, toluene-, and alkylbenzene-degrading abilities. In this evolved BphA1, four amino acids (H255Q, V258I, G268A, and F277Y) were changed from the KF707 enzyme to those of the LB400 enzyme. Subsequent site-directed mutagenesis allowed us to determine the amino acids responsible for the degradation of monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.


1965 ◽  
Vol 43 (5) ◽  
pp. 1272-1278 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. F. Murphy ◽  
D. E. Baker

Spectrophotometric measurements on solutions of stannic iodide were found to provide evidence for complex formation with aromatic hydrocarbons. Calculations, based on spectra for mixed solutions of benzene and stannic iodide in carbon tetrachloride, yield values of 0.26 for the equilibrium constant (mole fraction), 28 400 1/mole cm for the molar extinction coefficient of the benzene – stannic iodide complex. Kinetic evidence indicates that the order of decreasing complex stabilities is from xylene to toluene to benzene. The formation of stannic iodide – aromatic hydrocarbon complexes provides an explanation for the discrepancy between measured solubilities of stannic iodide in benzene, toluene, and xylene, and the solubilities predicted by the Hildebrand theory of regular solutions.


Author(s):  
Dina Orazbayeva ◽  
Ulzhalgas Karatayeva ◽  
Kulzhan Beysembayeva ◽  
Kulyash Meyramkulova

Solid-phase microextraction in combination with gas chromatography and mass-spectrometry (GC-MS) was used for determination of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and o-xylene (BTEX), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), and for identification of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in ambient air of the city of Astana, Kazakhstan. The screening of the samples showed the presence of mono- and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, alkanes, alkenes, phenols, and benzaldehydes. The concentrations of naphthalene were 5-7 times higher than the permissible value, it was detected in all studied air samples. Average concentration of naphthalene was 18.4 μg/m3, acenaphthylene – 0.54 μg/m3, acenaphthene – 1.63 μg/m3, fluorene – 0.79 μg/m3, anthracene – 3.27 μg/m3, phenanthrene – 0.22 μg/m3, fluorantene – 0.74 μg/m3, pyrene – 0.73 μg/m3. Average concentrations of BTEX in the studied samples were 31.1, 84.9, 10.8 and 11.6 μg/m3, respectively. Based on the statistical analysis of the concentrations of BTEX and PAH, the main source of city air pollution with them was assumed to be vehicle emissions.


2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (13) ◽  
pp. 6941-6952 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Nehr ◽  
B. Bohn ◽  
H.-P. Dorn ◽  
H. Fuchs ◽  
R. Häseler ◽  
...  

Abstract. Current photochemical models developed to simulate the atmospheric degradation of aromatic hydrocarbons tend to underestimate OH radical concentrations. In order to analyse OH budgets, we performed experiments with benzene, toluene, p-xylene and 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene in the atmosphere simulation chamber SAPHIR. Experiments were conducted under low-NO conditions (typically 0.1–0.2 ppb) and high-NO conditions (typically 7–8 ppb), and starting concentrations of 6–250 ppb of aromatics, dependent on OH rate constants. For the OH budget analysis a steady-state approach was applied in which OH production and destruction rates (POH and DOH) have to be equal. The POH were determined from measurements of HO2, NO, HONO, and O3 concentrations, considering OH formation by photolysis and recycling from HO2. The DOH were calculated from measurements of the OH concentrations and total OH reactivities. The OH budgets were determined from DOH/POH ratios. The accuracy and reproducibility of the approach were assessed in several experiments using CO as a reference compound where an average ratio DOH/POH = 1.13 ± 0.19 was obtained. In experiments with aromatics, these ratios ranged within 1.1–1.6 under low-NO conditions and 0.9–1.2 under high-NO conditions. The results indicate that OH budgets during photo-oxidation experiments with aromatics are balanced within experimental accuracies. Inclusion of a further, recently proposed OH production via HO2 + RO2 reactions led to improvements under low-NO conditions but the differences were small and insignificant within the experimental errors.


1989 ◽  
Vol 136 ◽  
pp. 157-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. G. Stacy ◽  
M. E. Bitran ◽  
T. M. Dame ◽  
P. Thaddeus

The discrepancy between observed and predicted γ-ray emission toward the Galactic Center is attributed to a unique population of wide-line molecular clouds. The most prominent objects of this class show evidence of rotation and a significant stellar population. The observed 12CO emission traces the gravitational field produced primarily by stars, not molecular gas.


1981 ◽  
Vol 38 (7) ◽  
pp. 772-778 ◽  
Author(s):  
Desmond J. Maynard ◽  
Douglas D. Weber

Presmolt coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) tested in a Y-maze avoided a mixture of monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons at concentrations of 3–4 mg/L while smolting coho salmon avoided concentrations of less than 2 mg/L. Three components (benzene, toluene, o-xylene) of the mixture were tested individually with presmolt salmon and each was avoided at a lower concentration than when compared with the total hydrocarbon concentration of the mixture; o-xylene was most repellent, causing statistically significant avoidance at a concentration of 0.2 mg/L. Electrophysiological recordings from the olfactory bulb indicated that short-term exposure of juvenile coho salmon to monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons at 4 mg/L did not disrupt this chemosensory modality; the olfactory system was stimulated by an aromatic hydrocarbon mixture at concentrations correlating with observed avoidance behavior.Key words: salmon, behavior, avoidance, monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, Oncorhynchus, olfactory EEG


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