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Fullerenes and Related Carbon Compounds in Interstellar Environments

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Natural Fullerenes and Related Structures of Elemental Carbon

Part of the book series: Developments in Fullerene Science ((DFUL,volume 6))

Abstract

The prediction of the existence of the fullerene C60 and its subsequent isolation from soot produced a large interest for fullerenes in the astronomical community. Fullerenes of astronomical origin have only been detected in meteorites and associated with an impact crater on the Long Duration Exposure Facility spacecraft. The discovery of fullerenes led to the hypothesis that they may be stable carbon molecules present in interstellar space. Many authors have suggested the possible presence of C60 and carbon onions in astrophysical environments as well as their relation to the diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) and the UV bump at 220 nm in the interstellar extinction curve. As first evidence for the largest molecule ever detected in space, two diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs) have been identified in the near infrared that are consistent with laboratory measurements of the C60 cation. We review the current knowledge on fullerenes in space and present new observations of the interstellar bands at 957.7 nm and 963.2 nm.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Astrobiology Laboratory, Leiden Institute of Chemistry, 2300 RA, Leiden, the Netherlands

    Pascale Ehrenfreund

  2. Astronomical Institute, University of Amsterdam, 1098 SJ, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

    Nick Cox

  3. ESTEC/SCI-SR, ESA, PO Box 299, 2200 AG, Noordwijk, the Netherlands

    Bernard Foing

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  1. Pascale Ehrenfreund
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Ehrenfreund, P., Cox, N., Foing, B. (2006). Fullerenes and Related Carbon Compounds in Interstellar Environments. In: Natural Fullerenes and Related Structures of Elemental Carbon. Developments in Fullerene Science, vol 6. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4135-7_4

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