An investigation into chain-growing reactions of ethene and acetylene in the interstellar medium Emily Race, Reetu and Anthony J.H.M. Meijer Department of Chemistry, University of Sheffield, UK The interstellar medium is a chemically rich and diverse environment very different energetically to our own but similarly populated by C, H, O and N 1 . Within it the simple molecules C 2 H 2 and C 2 H 4 have been widely reported 2 hence, are strong candidates in the formation of larger more complex organic molecules. This is especially the case when they are considered within more dynamic interstellar conditions. The pathways of these reactions are pivotal in the understanding of the evolution of the universe and the systems within it. A continuation of notable literature 3,4 is reported here by performing a series of computational calculations on the reactions of C 2 H 2 and C 2 H 4 with C, both singlet and triplet, and C + in the gas phase using different methods to benchmark our calculations. To investigate the role of dust in such reactions we also have performed calculations using hexabenzocoronene to mimic the presence of solid dust grains participating within the reactions. Preliminary results show that the surface can have a significant effect on the viable reaction pathways. References 1. M. Tielens, The Physics and Chemistry of the Interstellar Medium, Cambridge University Press, 2005. 2. R. I. Kaiser, Chemical Reviews, 2002, 102, 1309–1358. 3. R. I. Kaiser, D. Stranges, Y. T. Lee and A. G. Suits, The Astrophysical Journal, 1997, 477, 982–989. 4. T. N. Le, H. Lee, A. M. Mebel and R. I. Kaiser, The Journal of Physical Chemistry A, 2001, 105, 1847–1856.
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