화학공학소재연구정보센터
Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol.135, No.1, 155-166, 2013
Formation of Nitrogen-Containing Polycyclic Cations by Gas-Phase and Intracluster Reactions of Acetylene with the Pyridinium and Pyrimidinium Ions
Here, we present evidence from laboratory experiments for the formation of nitrogen-containing complex organic ions by sequential reactions of acetylene with the pyridinium and pyrimidinium ions in the gas phase and within ionized pyridine-acetylene binary clusters. Additions of five and two acetylene molecules onto the pyridinium and pyrimidinium ions, respectively, at room temperature are observed. Second-order rate coefficients of the overall reaction of acetylene with the pyridinium and pyrimidinium ions are measured as 9.0 x 10(-11) and 1.4 x 10(-9) cm(3) s(-1), respectively, indicating reaction efficiencies of about 6% and 100%, respectively, at room temperature. At high temperatures, only two acetylene molecules are added to the pyridinium and pyrimidinium ions, suggesting covalent bond formation. A combination of ion dissociation and ion mobility experiments with DFT calculations reveals that the addition of acetylene into the pyridinium ion occurs through the N-atom of the pyridinium ion. The relatively high reaction efficiency is consistent with the absence of a barrier in the exothermic N-C bond forming reaction leading to the formation of the C7H7N center dot+ covalent adduct. An exothermic addition/H-elimination reaction of acetylene with the C7H7N center dot+ adduct is observed leading to the formation of a bicyclic quinolizinium cation (C9H8N+). Similar chemistry is observed in the sequential reactions of acetylene with the pyrimidinium ion. The second acetylene addition onto the pyrimidinium ion involves an exclusive addition/H-elimination reaction at room temperature leading to the formation of a bicyclic pyrimidinium cation (C8H7N2+). The high reactivity of the pyridinium and pyrimidinium ions toward acetylene is in sharp contrast to the very low reactivity of the benzene cation, which has a reaction efficiency of 10(-4)-10(-5). This indicates that the presence of a nitrogen atom within the aromatic ring enhances the ring growth mechanism by the sequential addition of acetylene to form nitrogen-containing polycyclic hydrocarbon ions. The observed reactions could explain the possible formation of nitrogen-containing complex organics by gas-phase ion-molecule reactions involving the pyridinium and pyrimidinium ions with acetylene under a wide range of temperatures and pressures in astrochemical environments such as the nitrogen-rich Titan's atmosphere. The current results suggest searching for spectroscopic evidence for these organics in Titan's atmosphere.