https://doi.org/10.1140/epjd/s10053-023-00590-z
Regular Article – Clusters and Nanostructures
N-graphene synthesized in astrochemical ices
1
Physical Research Laboratory, 380009, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad, India
2
Center for Nanoscience, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India
3
Academia Sinica, Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Taipei, Taiwan
4
National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center, Hsinchu, Taiwan
5
CNRS, IPR (Institute de Physique de Rennes), University of Rennes-1, Rennes, France
6
Institute of Astronomy Space and Earth Science, Kolkata, India
7
Tzu-Chi University of Science and Technology, No. 880, Sec.2, Chien-Kuo Rd, 970, Hualien City , Taiwan
8
Department of Medical Research, Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, Hualien, Taiwan
9
Atomic and Molecular Physics Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Mumbai, India
10
International Space University, Strasbourg, France
11
School of Physical Sciences, University of Kent, CT2 7NH, Canterbury, UK
12
Division-I. Physikalisches Institut, Universitat Zu Koln, Koln, Germany
Received:
15
September
2022
Accepted:
26
December
2022
Published online:
10
February
2023
In our quest for the presence of large complex molecules containing a majority of carbon in the interstellar medium (ISM), the search for graphene plays a central role due to its nature in making other carbon structures. Although the ingredients for graphene synthesis are present in the ISM, conclusive laboratory evidence of such formation is lacking. Therefore, in our laboratory experiments simulating the cold ISM conditions, we subjected icy mantles of benzonitrile, an aromatic with a cyanide side chain that has recently been detected in the interstellar medium, to vacuum ultraviolet photon irradiation. The irradiated ice was observed to leave a residue upon warming to room temperature. The residue was removed from the substrate and placed on a Quantifoil grid for electron microscopy analysis. Transmission electron microscopy showed quantum dots (QD) and nitrogen-doped graphene (N-Graphene) sheets. Diffraction and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy revealed the crystalline nature and carbon–nitrogen composition, of the observed graphene sheet. This is the first evidence of QD and N-graphene synthesis in ice irradiation at interstellar temperatures.
Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1140/epjd/s10053-023-00590-z.
Copyright comment Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to EDP Sciences, SIF and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2023. Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
