Growth mechanism of aromatic prebiotic molecules: insights from different processes of ion-molecule reactions in benzonitrile-ammonia and benzonitrile-methylamine clusters

Benzonitrile (BN, C 6 H 5 CN) has been detected in the cold molecular cloud Taurus molecular cloud-1 (TMC-1) in 2018, which is suggested to be a precursor in the formation of more complex nitrogen-containing aromatic interstellar compounds. In this study, we utilized mass-selected infrared (IR) phot...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physical chemistry chemical physics : PCCP 2024-08, Vol.26 (32), p.21548-21557
Main Authors: Chen, Xutao, Li, Yujian, Xie, Min, Hu, Yongjun
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ammonia
Aromatic compounds
Benzonitrile
Charge distribution
Chemical reactions
Clusters
Covalent bonds
Hydrogen bonding
Infrared spectroscopy
Interstellar chemistry
Interstellar matter
Molecular clouds
Molecular structure
Nitrogen
Photodissociation
Quantum chemistry
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Summary:Benzonitrile (BN, C 6 H 5 CN) has been detected in the cold molecular cloud Taurus molecular cloud-1 (TMC-1) in 2018, which is suggested to be a precursor in the formation of more complex nitrogen-containing aromatic interstellar compounds. In this study, we utilized mass-selected infrared (IR) photodissociation spectroscopy and quantum chemical calculations to investigate the structures and gaseous ion-molecule reactions of benzonitrile-ammonia (BN-NH 3 ) and benzonitrile-methylamine (BN-MA) clusters. The spectral observations indicate that the cyclic hydrogen bonding structure predominates in both neutral clusters. After VUV (118 nm) single-photon ionization, a new C-N covalent bond formed between BN and NH 3 in the (BN-NH 3 ) + cluster. However, proton sharing constitutes the primary structure of the (BN-MA) + cluster. The two nitrogen-containing interstellar molecules react with BN to yield distinct products due to difference in charge distribution and molecular polarity in the ionized clusters. The reactions of BN with other molecules contribute to our understanding of the growth mechanisms of complex interstellar molecules. Our spectroscopic study identified cyclic H-bonded structures in benzonitrile-ammonia (BN-NH 3 ) and benzonitrile-methylamine (BN-MA) complexes. After ionization, the (BN-NH 3 ) + forms a C-N bond, while the (BN-MA) + develops a proton-shared structure.
ISSN:1463-9076
1463-9084
1463-9084
DOI:10.1039/d4cp01603c