Toward Unraveling Cyanopolyyne Surface Chemistry: A Preview on Isolated Systems From HC_{3}N to Ethyl Cyanide and Propylamine

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Auteurs principaux: Raaphorst, Marten T., Enrique-Romero, Joan, Lamberts, Thanja
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2025
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author Raaphorst, Marten T.
Enrique-Romero, Joan
Lamberts, Thanja
author_facet Raaphorst, Marten T.
Enrique-Romero, Joan
Lamberts, Thanja
contents Cyanopolyynes, a family of nitrogen containing carbon chains, are common in the interstellar medium and possibly form the backbone of species relevant to prebiotic chemistry. Following their gas phase formation, they are expected to freeze out on ice grains in cold interstellar regions. In this work we present the hydrogenation reaction network of isolated HC_{3}N, the smallest cyanopolyyne, that consists over-a-barrier radical-neutral reactions and barrierless radical-radical reactions. We employ density functional theory, coupled cluster and multiconfigurational methods to obtain activation and reaction energies for the hydrogenation network of HC_{3}N. This work explores the reaction network of the isolated molecule and constitutes a preview on the reactions occurring on the ice grain surface. We find that the reactions where the hydrogen atom adds to the carbon chain at carbon atom opposite of the cyano-group give the lowest and most narrow barriers. Subsequent hydrogenation leads to the astrochemically relevant vinyl cyanide and ethyl cyanide. Alternatively, the cyano-group can hydrogenate via radical-radical reactions, leading to the fully saturated propylamine. These results can be extrapolated to give insight into the general reactivity of carbon chains on interstellar ices.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2505_19908
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Toward Unraveling Cyanopolyyne Surface Chemistry: A Preview on Isolated Systems From HC_{3}N to Ethyl Cyanide and Propylamine
Raaphorst, Marten T.
Enrique-Romero, Joan
Lamberts, Thanja
Astrophysics of Galaxies
Cyanopolyynes, a family of nitrogen containing carbon chains, are common in the interstellar medium and possibly form the backbone of species relevant to prebiotic chemistry. Following their gas phase formation, they are expected to freeze out on ice grains in cold interstellar regions. In this work we present the hydrogenation reaction network of isolated HC_{3}N, the smallest cyanopolyyne, that consists over-a-barrier radical-neutral reactions and barrierless radical-radical reactions. We employ density functional theory, coupled cluster and multiconfigurational methods to obtain activation and reaction energies for the hydrogenation network of HC_{3}N. This work explores the reaction network of the isolated molecule and constitutes a preview on the reactions occurring on the ice grain surface. We find that the reactions where the hydrogen atom adds to the carbon chain at carbon atom opposite of the cyano-group give the lowest and most narrow barriers. Subsequent hydrogenation leads to the astrochemically relevant vinyl cyanide and ethyl cyanide. Alternatively, the cyano-group can hydrogenate via radical-radical reactions, leading to the fully saturated propylamine. These results can be extrapolated to give insight into the general reactivity of carbon chains on interstellar ices.
title Toward Unraveling Cyanopolyyne Surface Chemistry: A Preview on Isolated Systems From HC_{3}N to Ethyl Cyanide and Propylamine
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.19908