A twist on the reaction of the CN radical with methylamine in the interstellar medium: new hints from a state-of-the-art quantum-chemical study

Despite the fact that the majority of current models assume that interstellar complex organic molecules (iCOMs) are formed on dust-grain surfaces, there is some evidence that neutral gas-phase reactions play an important role. In this paper, we investigate the reaction occurring in the gas phase bet...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:arXiv.org 2020-07
Main Authors: Puzzarini, C, Salta, Z, Tasinato, N, Lupi, J, Cavallotti, C, Barone, V
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Interstellar chemistry
Interstellar matter
Neutral gases
Organic chemistry
Quantum chemistry
State-of-the-art reviews
Vapor phases
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Despite the fact that the majority of current models assume that interstellar complex organic molecules (iCOMs) are formed on dust-grain surfaces, there is some evidence that neutral gas-phase reactions play an important role. In this paper, we investigate the reaction occurring in the gas phase between methylamine (CH\(_3\)NH\(_2\)) and the cyano (CN) radical, for which only fragmentary and/or inaccurate results have been reported to date. This case study allows us to point out the pivotal importance of employing quantum-chemical calculations at the state of the art. Since the two major products of the CH\(_3\)NH\(_2\) + CN reaction, namely the CH\(_3\)NH and CH\(_2\)NH\(_2\) radicals, have not been spectroscopically characterized yet, some effort has been made for filling this gap.
ISSN:2331-8422
DOI:10.48550/arxiv.2007.07657