Photofragmentation of Corannulene (C20H10) and Sumanene (C21H12) cations in gas phase and its Astrophysical implications

TL;DR

This study investigates the photo-fragmentation pathways of corannulene and sumanene cations, revealing distinct fragmentation channels that enhance understanding of PAHs in space and their potential detection.

Contribution

It provides experimental and theoretical insights into the fragmentation pathways of corannulene and sumanene cations, highlighting differences due to molecular structure and implications for astrophysical observations.

Findings

Different fragmentation channels for corannulene and sumanene cations.

Similar low mass cations produced by both species.

Potential relevance of low mass cations for astronomical detection.

Abstract

The aromatic infrared Bands (AIBs) dominate the mid-infrared spectra of many galactic and extragalactic sources. These AIBs are generally attributed to fluorescent emission from aromatic molecules. Unified efforts from experimentalists and theoreticians to assign these AIB features have recently gotten additional impetus with the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) as the Mid-InfraRed Instrument (MIRI) delivers mid-IR spectrum with greatly increased sensitivity and spectral resolution. PAHs in space can exist in either neutral or ionic forms, absorb UV photons and undergo fragmentation, becoming a rich source of small hydrocarbons. This top-down mechanism of larger PAHs fragmenting into smaller species is of utmost importance in photo-dissociation regions (PDR) in space. In this work, we experimentally and theoretically investigate the photo-fragmentation pathways of two astronomically significant PAH cations - corannulene (C20H10) and sumanene (C21H12) that are structural motifs of fullerene C60, to understand their sequential fragmentation pathways. The photo-fragmentation experiments exhibit channels that are much different from planar PAHs. The breakdown of carbon skeleton is found to have different pathways for C20H10 and C21H12 because of the number and positioning of pentagon rings; yet the most abundant low mass cations produced by these two species are found to be similar. The low mass cations showcased in this work could be of interest for their astronomical detections. For completeness, the qualitative photo fragmentation behaviour of the dicationic corannulene and sumanene have also been experimented, but the potential energy surface of these dications are beyond the scope of this paper.