PAH growth and soot formation in the pyrolysis of acetylene and benzene at high temperatures and pressures: Modeling and experiment

Laser-based sensing in the long-wavelength mid-infrared: chemical kinetics and environmental monitoring applications

We present chemical kinetics and environmental monitoring applications in the long-wavelength mid-infrared (LW-MIR) region using a new diagnostic that exploits a widely tunable light source emitting in the LW-MIR. The custom-designed laser source is based on a difference-frequency generation (DFG) process in a nonlinear orientation-patterned GaAs crystal. The pump laser, an external-cavity quantum cascade laser, is tuned in a continuous-wave (cw) mode, while the signal laser, a C O ₂ gas laser, is operated in a pulsed mode with a kilohertz repetition rate. The idler wavelength can be tuned between 11.58 (863.56c m ^-1) and 15.00 µm (666.67c m ^-1) in a quasi-cw manner. We discuss the unique prospective applications offered by probing the LW-MIR region for chemical kinetics and environment-monitoring applications. We showcase the potential of the DFG laser source by some representative applications.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon growth in a benzene discharge explored by IR-UV action spectroscopy

Infrared signatures of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are detected towards many phases of stellar evolution. PAHs are major players in the carbon chemistry of the interstellar medium, forming the connection between small hydrocarbons and large fullerenes. However, as details on the formation of PAHs in these environments are still unclear, modeling their abundance and chemistry has remained far from trivial. By combining molecular beam mass-selective IR spectroscopy and calculated IR spectra, we analyze the discharge of benzene and identify resulting products including larger PAHs, radicals and intermediates that serve as promising candidates for radio astronomical searches. The identification of various reaction products indicates that different gas-phase reaction mechanisms leading to PAH growth must occur under the same conditions to account for all observed PAH-related species, thereby revealing the complex and interconnected network of PAH formation pathways. The results of this study highlight key (exothermic) reactions that need to be included in astrochemical models describing the carbon chemistry in our universe.

Formation and growth mechanisms of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: A mini-review

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are mostly formed during the incomplete combustion of organic materials, but their importance and presence in materials science, and astrochemistry has also been proven. These carcinogenic persistent organic pollutants are essential in the formation of combustion generated particles as well. Due to their significant impact on the environment and human health, to understand the formation and growth of PAHs is essential. Therefore, the most important growth mechanisms are reviewed, and presented here from the past four decades (1981-2021) to initiate discussions from a new perspective. Although, the collected and analyzed observations are derived from both experimental, and computational studies, it is neither a systematic nor a comprehensive review. Nevertheless, the mechanisms were divided into three main categories, acetylene additions (e.g. HACA), vinylacetylene additions (HAVA), and radical reactions, and discussed accordingly.

Synergistic effect of biomass and polyurethane waste co-pyrolysis on soot formation at high temperatures

Soot is an important toxic pollutant generated during high-temperature incineration of solid waste (i.e., biomass and plastic waste) under air-lean conditions, and has a great impact on flame radiation. The main objective of this work is to study the synergistic effect of biomass and polyurethane co-pyrolysis on soot formation at high temperatures (1100-1250 °C). The effects of temperature, biomass species, and co-pyrolysis ratio on the yield, morphology, composition and reactivity of soot particles are studied. Results show that under controlled co-pyrolysis conditions, the measured soot yield from co-pyrolysis of biomass and polyurethane is lower than the theoretical value by weight average, while the particle size distribution tends to concentrate on a smaller diameter range. The degree of synergistic effect increases with the increasing biomass ratio (0-50 wt%) and decreasing pyrolysis temperature. Wood in co-pyrolysis presents a stronger synergistic effect on soot yields than straw co-pyrolysis does. Degree of synergistic effect on soot oxidation reactivity depends much on the biomass addition ratio but less on pyrolysis temperature. At 10 wt% straw addition ratio, co-pyrolysis exerts a negative synergistic effect on soot oxidation reactivity, while the synergistic effect turns significantly positive when the straw addition ratio increases to 50 wt%.

Insight into Multiple and Multilevel Structures of Biochars and Their Potential Environmental Applications: A Critical Review

Biochar is the carbon-rich product of the pyrolysis of biomass under oxygen-limited conditions, and it has received increasing attention due to its multiple functions in the fields of climate change mitigation, sustainable agriculture, environmental control, and novel materials. To design a "smart" biochar for environmentally sustainable applications, one must understand recent advances in biochar molecular structures and explore potential applications to generalize upon structure-application relationships. In this review, multiple and multilevel structures of biochars are interpreted based on their elemental compositions, phase components, surface properties, and molecular structures. Applications such as carbon fixators, fertilizers, sorbents, and carbon-based materials are highlighted based on the biochar multilevel structures as well as their structure-application relationships. Further studies are suggested for more detailed biochar structural analysis and separation and for the combination of macroscopic and microscopic information to develop a higher-level biochar structural design for selective applications.

Unexpected chemistry from the reaction of naphthyl and acetylene at combustion-like temperatures

The hydrogen abstraction/acetylene addition (HACA) mechanism has long been viewed as a key route to aromatic ring growth of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in combustion systems. However, doubt has been drawn on the ubiquity of the mechanism by recent electronic structure calculations which predict that the HACA mechanism starting from the naphthyl radical preferentially forms acenaphthylene, thereby blocking cyclization to a third six-membered ring. Here, by probing the products formed in the reaction of 1- and 2-naphthyl radicals in excess acetylene under combustion-like conditions with the help of photoionization mass spectrometry, we provide experimental evidence that this reaction produces 1- and 2-ethynylnaphthalenes (C12 H8 ), acenaphthylene (C12 H8 ) and diethynylnaphthalenes (C14 H8 ). Importantly, neither phenanthrene nor anthracene (C14 H10 ) was found, which indicates that the HACA mechanism does not lead to cyclization of the third aromatic ring as expected but rather undergoes ethynyl substitution reactions instead.

Computational investigations on covalent dimerization/oligomerization of polyacenes: is it relevant to soot formation?

We have postulated a novel pathway that could assist in the nucleation of soot particles through covalent dimerization and oligomerizations of a variety of PAHs. DFT calculations were performed with the objective of obtaining the relative thermal stabilities and formation probabilities of oligomeric species that exploit the facile dimerization that is known to occur in linear oligoacenes. We propose that the presence of small stretches of linear oligoacence (tetracene or longer) in extended PAH, either embedded or tethered, would be adequate for enabling the formation of such dimeric and oligomeric adducts; these could then serve as nuclei for the growth of soot particles. Our studies also reveal the importance of π-stacking interactions between extended aromatic frameworks in governing the relative stabilities of the oligomeric species that are formed.

Chemistry of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons formation from phenyl radical pyrolysis and reaction of phenyl and acetylene

An experimental investigation of phenyl radical pyrolysis and the phenyl radical + acetylene reaction has been performed to clarify the role of different reaction mechanisms involved in the formation and growth of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) serving as precursors for soot formation. Experiments were conducted using GC/GC-MS diagnostics coupled to the high-pressure single-pulse shock tube present at the University of Illinois at Chicago. For the first time, comprehensive speciation of the major stable products, including small hydrocarbons and large PAH intermediates, was obtained over a wide range of pressures (25-60 atm) and temperatures (900-1800 K) which encompass the typical conditions in modern combustion devices. The experimental results were used to validate a comprehensive chemical kinetic model which provides relevant information on the chemistry associated with the formation of PAH compounds. In particular, the modeling results indicate that the o-benzyne chemistry is a key factor in the formation of multi-ring intermediates in phenyl radical pyrolysis. On the other hand, the PAHs from the phenyl + acetylene reaction are formed mainly through recombination between single-ring aromatics and through the hydrogen abstraction/acetylene addition mechanism. Polymerization is the common dominant process at high temperature conditions.

Role of methyl radicals in the growth of PAHs

The role of methyl radicals in the networking of sp(2) carbons has been explored through kinetic analysis of mass spectra of the gas-phase products of the pyrolysis of toluene and toluene/acetone mixtures. Pyrolytic reactions were performed in a flow tube reactor at temperatures of 1140-1320 K and a constant total pressure of 10.38 Torr with a residence time of 0.585 s. On addition of acetone, methyl substituted products and their derivatives were enhanced. Mass peaks were observed in several sequences at an interval of 14 mass units; these ions correspond to methyl substituted products formed as a result of hydrogen abstraction (-H) followed by methyl radical addition (+CH(3)). Each major peak was usually preceded by a peak at two mass units lower, which was likely produced through dehydrogenation/dehydrocyclization (-H(2)) of methyl substituted products. Detected species include a large number of alkyl, cyclotetrafused (CT), cyclopentafused (CP) mono-, di-, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) along with primary PAHs. The analysis showed that MAC (methyl addition/cyclization) has a unique capacity to induce the sequential growth of hexagonal networks of sp(2) carbons from all fusing sites of a PAH. Moreover, MAC was found capable of answering an important question in PAH growth, which is expansion of the CT --> CP --> hexagonal network for which other reported mechanisms are inefficient.