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At least 73 records · Page 4

Ultraviolet absorption cross-sections of some carbonyl compounds and their temperature dependence

Ultraviolet absorption cross-section of phosgene (CCl2O), trichloroacetylchloride (CCl3-CClO) and trichloroacetaldehyde (CCl3-CHO) have been measured between 170 and 320 nm for temperature ranging from 210 to 295 K with classical double beam equipment. These data are compared with other available determinations performed at room temperature. Photodissociation coefficients are estimated and their temperature dependence is discussed. Impact of the photodissociation on the total atmospheric destruction of these compounds is illustrated.

Gillotay, D.↗

Southern hemisphere ground based measurements of Carbonyl Fluoride (COF2) and Hydrogen Fluoride (HF): Partitioning between Fluoride reservoir species

We report infrared ground based total column measurements of the stratospheric fluorine reservoir gases COF2 and HF above Lauder, New Zealand (45 deg S, 167.8 deg E) obtained between April 1993 and January 1994. The average retrieved COF2 and HF total columns are 2.81(+/- 0.56) x 10(exp 14) and 9.91(+/- 1.09) x 10(exp 14) molecules/sq cm respectively. The daily average COF2 and HF columns are correlated; this correlation is likely the result of dynamics. The average HF/COF2 column ratio on days with measurements of both HF and COF2 is 3.63 (+/- 0.55). Comparison of this ratio with model calculations implies that the quantum yield for COF2 photolysis is near unity. Our measured COF2 columns are higher than all previously reported values, but inconsistencies among the earlier measurements and uncertainty in the latitudinal gradient of the COF2 column preclude an accurate determination of the long-term COF2 trend.

Reisinger, Andreas R.↗

Increase of carbonyl fluoride (COF2) in the stratosphere and its contribution to the 1992 budget of inorganic fluorine in the upper stratosphere

Volume mixing ratio profiles of COF2 have been derived through most of the stratosphere between 30 deg N and 54 deg S from series of 0.01-/cm resolution infrared solar spectra recorded in the occultation mode by the atmospheric trace molecule spectroscopy (ATMOS) instrument during the ATLAS 1 space shuttle mission of March-April 1992. When compared with similar results obtained from the ATMOS/Spacelab 3 mission of April-May 1985, the cumulative increase in the burden of COF2 in the middle and upper stratosphere was found to be 67% for that 7-year time interval. By combining a subset of these COF2 results with upper stratospheric concentrations of HF also derived from the ATMOS observations, it was further found that the budget of inorganic fluorine above 35 km altitude increased by (60 +/- 10)% over the 1985-1992 time interval, which corresponds to an average exponential rate of increase of (6.7 +/- 1/1)%/yr, or a linear rate of increase reference to 1985 of (8.5 +/- 1.3)%/yr at the 1 sigma confidence level. The total inorganic F atom volume mixing ratio found in the upper stratosphere for 1985 and 1992 and the increase during this perid mirror the rise in man-made fluorine-bearing compounds at the ground during the early to mid 1980s. This demonstrates the negligible impact of natural sources of fluorine, in particular volcanic activity, on the observed change in F in the upper stratosphere. Implications of the present findings and comparison with model results are discussed.

Zander, R.↗

Photoproduction of carbonyl sulfide in south Pacific Ocean waters as a function of irradiation wavelength

Carbonly sulfide (OCS) photoproduction rates were measured at selected wavelengths of ultraviolet light between 297 and 405 nm in sea water samples from the southern Pacific Ocean. Near-surface and column production rate spectra for natural sunlit waters were calculated using sea-surface sunlight data measured near the austral summer solstice. These plots show that photoproduction rates are at a maximum at 313 nm in tropical waters and at 336 nm in Antarctic waters. Tropical surface and column rates were found to be 68 pM/day and 360 nmol/sq m/day, respectively, and Antarctic surface and column rates were found to be 101 pM/day and 620 nmol/sq m/day, respectively. A high degree of variability was observed between photoproduction rates from different ocean regions, with coastal rates being the highest, suggesting that natural environmental variability is an important factor. Photoproduction rates at 297 nm were found to be constant at individual locations with increasing irradiation time. Relative photoproduction rates from this work are compared to previously measured rates from coastal sea water.

Weiss, Peter S.↗

Increase of carbonyl fluoride (COF2) in the stratosphere and its contribution to the 1992 budget of inorganic fluorine in the upper stratosphere

Volume mixing ratio profiles of COF2 have been derived through most of the stratosphere between 30 deg N and 54 deg S from series of 0.01-cm(exp -1) resolution infrared solar spectra recorded in the occultation mode by the atmospheric trace molecule spectroscopy (ATMOS) instrument during the ATLAS 1 space shuttle mission of March-April 1992. When compared with similar results obtained from the ATMOS/Spacelab 3 mission of April-May 1985, the cumulative increase in the burden of COF2 in the middle and upper stratosphere was found to be 67% for that 7-year time interval. By combining a subset of these COF2 results with upper stratospheric concentrations of HF also derived from the ATMOS observations, it was further found that the budget of inorganic fluorine above 35 km altitude increased by (60 +/- 10) % over the 1985-1992 time interval, which corresponds to an average exponential rate of increase of(6.7 +/- 1.1) % /yr , or a linear rate of increase referenced to 1985 of (8.5 +/- 1.3) % /yr at the 1(sigma) confidence level. The total inorganic F atom volume mixing ratio found in the upper stratosphere for 1985 and 1992 and the increase during this period mirror the rise in man-made fluorine-bearing compounds at the ground during the early to mid 1980s. This demonstrates the negligible impact of natural sources of fluorine, in particular volcanic activity, on the observed change of F in the upper stratosphere. Implications of the present findings and comparison with model results are discussed.

Zander, R.↗

Effects of carbonyl bond, metal cluster dissociation, and evaporation rates on predictions of nanotube production in high-pressure carbon monoxide

The high-pressure carbon monoxide (HiPco) process for producing single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) uses iron pentacarbonyl as the source of iron for catalyzing the Boudouard reaction. Attempts using nickel tetracarbonyl led to no production of SWNTs. This paper discusses simulations at a constant condition of 1300 K and 30 atm in which the chemical rate equations are solved for different reaction schemes. A lumped cluster model is developed to limit the number of species in the models, yet it includes fairly large clusters. Reaction rate coefficients in these schemes are based on bond energies of iron and nickel species and on estimates of chemical rates for formation of SWNTs. SWNT growth is measured by the conformation of CO2. It is shown that the production of CO2 is significantly greater for FeCO because of its lower bond energy as compared with that of NiCO. It is also shown that the dissociation and evaporation rates of atoms from small metal clusters have a significant effect on CO2 production. A high rate of evaporation leads to a smaller number of metal clusters available to catalyze the Boudouard reaction. This suggests that if CO reacts with metal clusters and removes atoms from them by forming MeCO, this has the effect of enhancing the evaporation rate and reducing SWNT production. The study also investigates some other reactions in the model that have a less dramatic influence.

Models, Chemical↗

Effects of Carbonyl Bond and Metal Cluster Dissociation and Evaporation Rates on Predictions of Nanotube Production in HiPco

The high-pressure carbon monoxide (HiPco) process for producing single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNT) uses iron pentacarbonyl as the source of iron for catalyzing the Boudouard reaction. Attempts using nickel tetracarbonyl led to no production of SWNTs. This paper discusses simulations at a constant condition of 1300 K and 30 atm in which the chemical rate equations are solved for different reaction schemes. A lumped cluster model is developed to limit the number of species in the models, yet it includes fairly large clusters. Reaction rate coefficients in these schemes are based on bond energies of iron and nickel species and on estimates of chemical rates for formation of SWNTs. SWNT growth is measured by the co-formation of CO2. It is shown that the production of CO2 is significantly greater for FeCO due to its lower bond energy as compared with that ofNiCO. It is also shown that the dissociation and evaporation rates of atoms from small metal clusters have a significant effect on CO2 production. A high rate of evaporation leads to a smaller number of metal clusters available to catalyze the Boudouard reaction. This suggests that if CO reacts with metal clusters and removes atoms from them by forming MeCO, this has the effect of enhancing the evaporation rate and reducing SWNT production. The study also investigates some other reactions in the model that have a less dramatic influence.

Scott, Carl D.↗

OCS, stratospheric aerosols and climate

The carbonyl sulfide budget in the atmosphere is examined, and the effects of stratospheric sulfate aerosol particles, formed in part from atmospheric carbonyl sulfate, on global climate are considered. From tropospheric measurements of carbon disulfide and the rate constant for the conversion of carbon disulfide to carbonyl sulfide, it is estimated that five Tg of carbonyl sulfide/year could be generated from carbon disulfide in the atmosphere. Direct sources of OCS include the refining and combustion of fossil fuels (1 Tg/year), natural and agricultural fires (0.2 to 0.3 Tg/year), and soils (0.5 Tg/year), yielding a total influx of from 1 to 10 Tg/year, up to 50% of which may be anthropogenic. Considerations of carbonyl sulfide sinks and concentrations indicate an atmospheric lifetime of one year, with OCS the major atmospheric sulfur compound. It is estimated that a ten-fold increase in atmospheric carbonyl sulfide would cause an optical depth perturbation comparable to that of a modest volcanic eruption, leading to an average global surface temperature decrease of 0.1 K, in addition to a possible greenhouse effect.

Turco, R. P.↗

Production of metal particles and clusters

The feasibility of producing novel metals or metal clusters in a low gravity environment was studied. The production of coordinately unsaturated metal carbonyls by thermolysis or photolysis of stable metal carbonyls has the potential to generate novel catalysts by this technique. Laser irradiation of available metal carbonyls was investigated. It is found that laser induced decomposition of metal carbonyls is feasible for producing a variety of coordinately unsaturated species. Formation of clustered species does occur but is hampered by weak metal-metal bonds.

Mcmanus, S. P.↗

Engineering, construction, and operations in space

The century-old Mond process for carbonyl extraction of metals from ore shows great promise as an efficient low energy scheme for producing high-purity Fe, Ni, Cr, Mn, and Co from lunar or asteroidal feedstocks. Scenarios for winning oxygen from the lunar regolith can be enhanced by carbonyl processing of the metallic alloy by-products of such operations. The native metal content of asteroidal regoliths is even more suitable to carbonyl processing. High-purity, corrosion resistant Fe and Ni can be extracted from asteroidial feedstocks along with a Co-rich residue containing 0.5 percent platinum-group metals. The resulting gaseous metal carbonyl can produce a variety of end products using efficient vapor forming techniques.

Johnson, Stewart W.↗

Deuterium Enrichment of Amino and Hydroxy Acids Found in the Murchison Meteorite: Constraints on Parent Body Conditions

The alpha-amino and alpha-hydroxy acids found in the Murchison carbonaceous chondrite are deuterium enriched. These compounds are thought to have originated from common deuterium enriched carbonyl precursors, by way of a Strecker synthesis which took place in a solution of HCN, NH3, and carbonyl compounds during the period of aqueous alteration of the meteorite parent body. However, the hydroxy acids found on Murchison are less deuterium enriched than the amino acids. With the objective of determining if the discrepancy in deuterium enrichment between the amino acids and the hydroxy acids found on Murchison is consistent with their formation in a Strecker synthesis, we have measured the deuterium content of alpha-amino and alpha-hydroxy acids produced in solutions of deuterated carbonyl compounds, KCN and NH4Cl, and also in mixtures of such solutions and Allende dust at 263 K and 295 K. Retention of the isotopic signature of the starting carbonyl by both alpha amino acids and alpha hydroxy acids is more dependent upon temperature, concentration and pH than upon the presence of meteorite dust in the solution. The constraints these observations place on Murchison parent body conditions will be discussed.

Lerner, Narcinda R.↗

Kinetics of Organic Transformations Under Mild Aqueous Conditions: Implications for the Origin of Life and Its Metabolism

The rates of thermal transformation of organic molecules containing carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen were systematically examined in order to identify the kinetic constraints that governed origin-of-life organic chemistry under mild aqueous conditions. Arrhenius plots of the kinetic data were used to estimate the reaction half-life at 50 C, and to reveal the effect of functional groups on reactivity. This survey showed that hydrocarbons and organic substances containing a single oxygenated group were kinetically the most stable (i. e. acetate decarboxylation half-life was l0(exp 18) years at 50 C); whereas, organic substances containing two oxygenated groups in which one group was a beta-positioned carbonyl group were the most reactive (i. e. acetoacetate decarboxylation half-life was l0(exp-2) years at 50 C). Of all functional groups the beta-positioned carbonyl group (aldehyde or ketone) was the strongest activating group, giving rates of reaction that were up to 10(exp 24)-times faster than rates of similar molecules lacking the beta-carbonyl group. From this knowledge of organic reactivity and the inherent constraints of autocatalytic processes, we concluded that an origins-of-life process based on autocatalytic transformation of C,H,O-substrates was constrained to using the most reactive organic molecules that contain alpha- or beta-carbonyl groups, since small autocatalytic domains of plausible catalytic power that used less reactive substrates could not carry out chemical transformations fast enough to prevent catastrophic efflux (escape) of reaction intermediates. Knowledge of the kinetics of organic transformations is useful, not only in constraining the chemistry of the earliest autocatalytic process related to the origin of life, but also in establishing the relative reactivity of organic molecules on the early Earth and other planets that may or may not be related to the origin of life.

Weber, Arthur L.↗

The infrared spectrum of the Galactic center and the composition of interstellar dust

We have obtained 5-8 micrometers spectra of the Galactic center from the Kuiper Airborne Observatory at resolving powers of approximately 50, approximately 150, and approximately 300. These spectra show absorption features at 5.5, 5.8, 6.1, and 6.8 micrometers. Together with previously observed features in the 3 micrometers region, these features are compared with laboratory spectra of candidate materials. The 3.0 and 6.1 micrometers features are due to the OH stretching and bending variations of H2O and are well fitted by water of hydration in silicates (e.g., talc). The 3.0 micrometer band is equally well fitted by ice mixtures containing 30% H2O, but such mixtures do not provide a good fit to the observed 6.1 micrometer band. The 3.4 and 6.8 micrometers features are identified with the CH stretching and deformation modes in CH2 and CH3 groups in saturated aliphatic hydrocarbons. The 6.1 micrometer band shows a short wavelength shoulder centered on 5.8 micrometer, attributed to carbonyl (C double bond O) groups in this interstellar hydrocarbon dust component. Finally, the narrow 5.5 micrometer feature is also attributed to carbonyl groups, but in the form of metal carbonyls [e.g., Fe(CO)4]. We have derived column densities and abundances along the line of sight toward the Galactic center for the various identified dust components. This analysis shows that hydrocarbon grains contain only 0.08 of the elemental abundance of C and contribute only a relatively minor fraction (0.1) of the total dust volume. Most of the interstellar dust volume is made up of silicates (approximately 0.6). Small graphite grains, responsible for the 2200 angstroms bump, account for 0.07 of the total dust volume. The remaining one-quarter of the interstellar dust volume consists of a material(s) without strong IR absorption features. Likely candidates include large graphite grains, diamonds, or amorphous carbon grains, which all have weak or no IR active modes. Finally, various models for the origin of the hydrocarbon dust component of the interstellar dust are discussed. All of them face some problems in explaining the observations, in particular, the absence of the spectroscopic signature of hydrocrbon grains in sources associated with molecular clouds.

NASA Discipline Exobiology↗