N-Graphene Synthesized in Astrochemical Ices

K K Rahul; M Ambresh; D Sahu; J K Meka; S -L Chou; Y -J Wu; D Gupta; A Das; J -I Lo; B -M Cheng; B N Raja Sekhar; A Bhardwaj; H Hill; P Janardhan; N J Mason; B Sivaraman

arXiv · 2008.10011

N-Graphene Synthesized in Astrochemical Ices

K K Rahul·M Ambresh·D Sahu·J K Meka·S -L Chou·Y -J Wu·D Gupta·A Das·J -I Lo·B -M Cheng·B N Raja Sekhar·A Bhardwaj·H Hill·P Janardhan·N J Mason·B Sivaraman

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Abstract

Icy mantles of benzonitrile, an aromatic with a cyanide side chain that has recently been detected in the interstellar medium, were subjected to vacuum ultraviolet photon irradiation and found to form a residue. The residue was removed from the substrate and placed on a Quantifoil grid for electron microscopy analysis. Transmission electron microscopy showed Quantum Dot (QD) and Nitrogen-doped Graphene (N-Graphene) sheets. Diffraction and Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy revealed the crystalline nature and carbon-nitrogen composition, of the observed graphene sheet. This is the first result showing QD and N-Graphene synthesis in ice irradiation at interstellar temperatures.

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K K Rahul, M Ambresh, D Sahu, J K Meka, S -L Chou, Y -J Wu, D Gupta, A Das, J -I Lo, B -M Cheng, B N Raja Sekhar, A Bhardwaj, H Hill, P Janardhan, N J Mason, B Sivaraman. 2020-08-23. N-Graphene Synthesized in Astrochemical Ices. https://arxiv.org/abs/2008.10011

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