Matrix isolation and ab initio theoretical investigations of carbon-based molecules of astrophysical interest.

摘要

Carbon clusters and their products have been of interest to researchers for some time. This interest has arisen because of the involvement of carbon clusters in such diverse processes and products as soot, fullerenes, flames, nanotubes, and interstellar species. In this dissertation, two major avenues of research into carbon clusters are investigated. In the first, the complex formed between the C;The second major avenue of research investigated concerns carbon cluster anions. Relatively little work has been reported on these species compared to the neutral species. New methods for their production and stabilization in rare gas matrices are introduced. Density functional theory (DFT) has shown that the linear isomers are much more stable than their cyclic counterparts. DFT has also been used to show that the reaction between neutral and anionic clusters is strongly exothermic. This is consistent with the experimental results which provide evidence for even-numbered carbon cluster anions from C