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Updated: Jul 1, 2025

Exploring the Radical Nature of a Carbon Surface by Electron Paramagnetic Resonance and a Calibrated Gas Flow
Published on: April 24, 2014
Rotational-state-selected Carbon Astrochemistry
1Department of Chemistry, University of Basel, CH-4056 Basel. jutta.toscano@unibas.ch.
Abstract:
The addition of individual quanta of rotational excitation to a molecule has been shown to markedly change its reactivity by significantly modifying the intermolecular interactions. So far, it has only been possible to observe these rotational effects in a very limited number of systems due to lack of rotational selectivity in chemical reaction experiments. The recent development of rotationally controlled molecular beams now makes such investigations possible for a wide range of systems. This is particularly crucial in order to understand the chemistry occurring in the interstellar medium, such as exploring the formation of carbon-based astrochemical molecules and the emergence of molecular complexity in interstellar space from the reaction of small atomic and molecular fragments.
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