" Spectroscopy of Potential Astrophysical Molecules in Solid Matrices and Microhydrated Salt-Clusters in Gas-Phase"

Abstract

Presently almost 200 molecules have been identified in outer space. Moreover, the diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) and unidentified infrared (UIR) emission features invoke the existence of numerous carbonaceous molecules in the interstellar medium. To decode the molecular origins of DIBs and UIR features, it is requisite to generate and spectroscopically characterize astrophysically relevant species in laboratory. Cryogenic matrix isolation technique allows us to trap such transient ions and radicals embedded in the matrix host (Neon, para-H2) and perform spectroscopic analysis.

 It has been a long-standing goal to understand the salt’s dissolution mechanism in microscopic level as it is of fundamental importance in atmospheric chemistry and biology. According to Collins’ empirical rule, salt systems comprising cosmotropic (hard) and a chaotropic (soft) ions are prone to solvent induced charge separation. Therefore, stepwise microsolvation of lithium halide salt complexes has been interrogated by cryogenic ion trap vibrational spectroscopy in gas-phase.