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Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are important components of the interstellar medium and carbonaceous chondrites, but have never been identified in the reducing atmospheres of the outer solar system. Incompletely characterized complex organic solids (tholins) produced by irradiating simulated Titan atmospheres reproduce well the observed UV/visible/IR optical constants of the Titan stratospheric haze. Titan tholin and a tholin generated in a crude simulation of the atmosphere of Jupiter are examined by two-step laser desorption/multiphoton ionization mass spectrometry. A range of two- to four-ring PAHs, some with one to four alkylation sites are identified, with net abundance approximately 10(-4) g g-1 (grams per gram) of tholins produced. Synchronous fluorescence techniques confirm this detection. Titan tholins have proportionately more one- and two-ring PAHs than do Jupiter tholins, which in turn have more four-ring and larger PAHs. The four-ringed PAH chrysene, prominent in some discussions of interstellar grains, is found in Jupiter tholins. Solid state 13C NMR spectroscopy suggests approximately equal to 25% of the total C in both tholins is tied up in aromatic and/or aliphatic alkenes. IR spectra indicate an upper limit in both tholins of approximately equal to 6% by mass in benzenes, heterocyclics, and PAHs with more than four rings. Condensed PAHs may contribute at most approximately 10% to the observed detached limb haze layers on Titan. As with interstellar PAHs, the synthesis route of planetary PAHs is likely to be via acetylene addition reactions.

Articles you may be interested inQuantitative analysis of electron energy loss spectra and modelling of optical properties of multilayer systems for extreme ultraviolet radiation regime Optical constants of dry films of deoxyribonucleic acid (sodium salt of calf thymus DNA) have been determined in the 2-82 eV region of photon energy. The extinction coefficient k was obtained by transmission measurements on thin films on metal mesh screens. The refractive index n in the nonabsorbing region 2--4 eV was obtained from critical-angle measurements on films deposited on a sapphire semicylinder. To determine the value of n above 4 eV, a Kramers-Kronig analysis was performed using the measured values of k. From these optical constants the complex dielectric function E and the energy-loss function for charged particles -Im(l/E) were derived. The results exhibit, in addition to the well-established absorptions around 4.7 and 6.5 eV, a strong absorption at 13.8 eV and a prominent peak in the energy-loss function at 21.6 eV which exhibits a large degree of collective behavior.

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