I will give an overview of the importance of determining temperature dependant rate constants for elementary chemical reactions for understanding the creation and destruction of organic matter in space. In particular I will focus on studies of the reactivity of carbon-containing radical species with organic co-reagents leading to efficient molecular growth even at the low temperatures of dense interstellar clouds (10�20 K) or of the atmospheres of planets and their moons, such as that of Titan (70�180 K), studied using both pulsed1 and continuous flow CRESU2(Cin�tique de R�action en Ecoulement Supersonique Uniforme, or Reaction Kinetics in Uniform Supersonic Flow) apparatuses.It is thought that long chain cyanopolyyne molecules H(C2)nCN may play an important role in the formation of the orange haze layer in Titan's atmosphere.3 The longest carbon chain molecule observed in interstellar space, HC11N, is also a member of this series. Reactions of radicals such as CN, C2H and C3N with unsaturated hydrocarbons may provide an important route for the synthesis of cyanopolyynes in these low temperature environments. I will present our latest results on reactions of CN and C2H reactions with diacetylene and cyanoacetylene,4 and compare them to fully ab-initio (two) transition state theory5 predictions based on new, highly accurate electronic structure calculations. I will also present our first results on the kinetics of C3N radical reactions, which can lead to the highly efficient incorporation of nitrogen into organic molecules via rapid reactions with small unsaturated � and saturated � hydrocarbons.1. Morales, S. B., PhD, Universit� de Rennes 1, 2009 .2. Sims, I. R., et al., J. Chem. Phys. 1994,  100, 4229.3. Lebonnois, S., et al., Icarus 2002,  159, 505.4. Halpern, J. B., et al., Chem. Phys. Lett. 1989,  155, 347.5. Greenwald, E. E., et al., J. Phys. Chem. A 2005,  109, 6031.

Low temperature reaction kinetics and organic synthesis in space: Organonitrogen chemistry

246th National Meeting (2013)

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