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Project Progress

Co-Investigator Murthy Gudipati working with Postdoctoral Fellows Ronen Jacovi and Antti Lignell and Collaborator Isabelle Couturier successfully carried out the synthesis of dicyanoacetylene (C₄N₂)—a potential component of Titan’s aerosol—and purified it for spectroscopic and photochemical studies in their newly established TOAST (Titan Organic Aerosol Synthesis and Spectroscopy) laboratory at JPL. They then pursued detailed photochemical studies on C₄N₂ as ice film (simulating condensed aerosol conditions) of ~500 nm thick at 100 K. Analysis was performed with simultaneous UV and IR spectroscopic studies on the same aerosol ice sample. In order to derive quantitative data, they had to optimize deposition conditions that led to optically high-quality UV spectra. For example, when deposited quickly over 15 minutes at 10-5 mbar pressure of C₄N₂, the UV spectra obtained were not of sufficient quality. However, deposition of C₄N₂ at 10^-7 mbar for over 2 hours did lead to excellent UV absorption spectra of the C4N2 aerosol ice films, as shown in Figure 1. They obtained UV and IR spectra of C₄N₂ simultaneously that match well with the literature values. Subsequently, they conducted photochemistry experiments with various visible and UV lasers that are defocused to avoid multiphoton processes at wavelengths: 532 nm, 355 nm, and 266 nm. Photon fluxes were typically ~50 mW/cm². Irradiation at 532 nm did not result in any changes in ice UV and IR absorption spectra, whereas with 355 nm they could clearly see depletion of C₄N₂ monomer bands at ~3% over 18 hours of irradiation. In contrast, photochemical depletion of C₄N₂ ice film with 266 nm laser was much faster, depleting over 80% of C₄N₂ in 3 hours of photolysis. They also conducted the same studies at the University of Provence, Marseille, where under very similar conditions the solid aerosol ice films were irradiated with a 150 W high-pressure Mercury lamp equipped with a glass filter that removed UV light at wavelengths shortward of 320 nm. During an overnight irradiation, about 50% of C₄N₂ was depleted.

When the ice films were warmed up, beyond 160 K C₄N₂ sublimes off, leaving a nonvolatile residue that is persistent at room temperature (300 K). This residue, shown in Figure 2, clearly resembles Titan’s tholins and does not disappear under vacuum over several days. These studies unambiguously show that longer wavelength photochemistry of condensed Titan organics can occur at lower haze altitudes (~100 km) in Titan’s atmosphere and that the non-volatile organic polymeric material resembles closely the conventional “tholins”, both in its physical appearance (color) as well as infrared spectral features.