Water attachment onto size-selected cationic hydroxy–pyrene clusters
Abstract
We study the attachment of a single water molecule colliding with cationic clusters of hydroxypyrene (PyOH)─a medium-sized hydroxylated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (OH-PAH). The (PyOH)n+ clusters (n = 2–6) were generated using a cryogenic molecular cluster source. The attachment rates are measured as a function of collision energy and initial cluster temperature. To rationalize the experimental results, we use a model that accounts for the dissociation rates of the water molecule in [(PyOH)nH2O]+ complexes to estimate the survival probability of these species. The derived binding energies range from ∼0.5 to 0.4 eV, decreasing with cluster size. By comparing our results with a previous study on pyrene clusters, we highlight the key role of charge combined with the hydroxyl function in enhancing the stability of [(PyOH)nH2O]+ complexes at higher temperatures. These findings add a new piece to the chemical network driving the physico-chemical evolution of PAHs and their role in planet-forming regions and exoplanetary atmospheres.
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BibTeX
@article{zamith2026water,
title = {{Water attachment onto size-selected cationic hydroxy–pyrene clusters}},
author = {Sébastien Zamith and Alexandre Marciniak and Fatima Baterdouk and Aude Simon and Christine Joblin},
journal = {Journal of Physical Chemistry A},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.1021/acs.jpca.6c05183},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05756982v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-SA 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Water attachment onto size-selected cationic hydroxy–pyrene clusters
AU - Sébastien Zamith
AU - Alexandre Marciniak
AU - Fatima Baterdouk
AU - Aude Simon
AU - Christine Joblin
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/21
JO - Journal of Physical Chemistry A
DO - 10.1021/acs.jpca.6c05183
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05756982v1
AB - We study the attachment of a single water molecule colliding with cationic clusters of hydroxypyrene (PyOH)─a medium-sized hydroxylated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (OH-PAH). The (PyOH)n+ clusters (n = 2–6) were generated using a cryogenic molecular cluster source. The attachment rates are measured as a function of collision energy and initial cluster temperature. To rationalize the experimental results, we use a model that accounts for the dissociation rates of the water molecule in [(PyOH)nH2O]+ complexes to estimate the survival probability of these species. The derived binding energies range from ∼0.5 to 0.4 eV, decreasing with cluster size. By comparing our results with a previous study on pyrene clusters, we highlight the key role of charge combined with the hydroxyl function in enhancing the stability of [(PyOH)nH2O]+ complexes at higher temperatures. These findings add a new piece to the chemical network driving the physico-chemical evolution of PAHs and their role in planet-forming regions and exoplanetary atmospheres.
SN - 1089-5639
SN - 1520-5215
ER -