A number of carboxylate anions spanning a mass range of 87−253 amu (pyruvate, oxalate, malonate, maleate, succinate, malate, tartarate, glutarate, adipate, phthalate, citrate, gluconate, ...1,2,4-benzenetricarboxylate, and 1,2,4,5-benzenetetracarboxylate) were investigated using electrospray ionization ion mobility spectrometry. Measured ion mobilities demonstrated a high correlation between mass and mobility in both N2 and CO2 drift gases. Such a strong mass−mobility correlation among structurally dissimilar ions suggests that the carboxylate functional group that these ions have in common is the source of the correlation. Computational analysis was performed to determine the most stable conformation of the studied carboxylate anions in the gas phase under the current experimental conditions. This analysis indicated that the most stable conformations for multicarboxylate anions included intramolecular hydrogen-bonded ring structures formed between the carboxylate group and the neutral carboxyl group. The carboxylate anions that form ring confirmations generally show higher ion mobility values than those that form extended conformations. This is the first observation of intramolecular hydrogen-bonded ring conformation of carboxylate anions in the gas phase at atmospheric pressure.
Processes resulting in the formation of hydrocarbons of carbonaceous chondrites and the identity of the interstellar molecular precursors involved are an objective of im-estigations into the origin ...of the solar system and perhaps even life on earth. We have combined the resources and experience of an astronomer and physicists doing laboratory simulations with those of a chemical expert in the analysis of meteoritic hydrocarbons, in a project that investigated the conversion of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) formed in stellar atmospheres into alkanes found in meteorites. Plasma hydrogenation has been found in the University of Alabama Lit Birmingham Astrophysics Laboratory to produce from the. precursor PAH naphthalene, a new material having an I R absorption spectrum (Lee. W. and Wdowiak, T. J.,
Astrophys. J.,
417, L49-L51, 1993) remarkably similar to that obtained at Arizona State University of the benzene-methanol extract of the Murchison meteorite (Cronin, J. R. and Pizzarello, S.,
Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta,
54, 2859–2868, 1990). There are astrophysical and meteoritic arguments for PAH species from extra-solar sources being incorporated into the solar nebula. where plasma hydrogenation is highly plausible. Conversion of PAHs into alkanes could also have occurred in the interstellar medium. The synthesis of laboratory analogs of meteoritic hydrocarbons through plasma hydrogenation of PAH species is underway, as is chemical analysis of those analogs. The objective is to clarify this heretofore uninvestigated process and to understand its role during the origin of the solar system as a mechanism of production of hydrocarbon species now found in meteorites. Results have been obtained in the form of time-of-flight spectroscopy and chemical analysis of the lab analog prepared from naphthalene.
Electron‐impact‐induced fluorescence spectra of SO
2
in the middle ultraviolet and visible wavelength regions (200–600 nm) have been measured in the laboratory using a crossed beam experiment at ...three electron impact energies. The emission spectra at 8, 18, and 98 eV exhibit a broad and continuous emission region extending from 225 to near 600 nm with a peak emission close to 330 nm. The quasicontinuous SO
2
bands arise primarily from direct excitation of SO
2
. At 18 and 98 eV, simultaneous excitation and dissociation of SO
2
produces distinct vibrational bands from SO and from atomic emission lines from S I, S II, O I, and O II that are superimposed on the SO
2
electronic transitions. The laboratory spectra were compared to green/violet color ratios obtained at Io by the Galileo Orbiter Solid State Imaging experiment. The laboratory spectra were also applied to the Cassini Imaging Subsystem to determine which filter combinations are particularly sensitive to electron energy, if the atmospheric gas present in the auroral atmosphere is solely or primarily SO
2
.
Electron-impact-induced fluorescence spectra of SO2 in the middle ultraviolet and visible wavelength regions (200-600 nm) have been measured in the laboratory using a crossed beam experiment at three ...electron impact energies. The emission spectra at 8, 18, and 98 eV exhibit a broad and continuous emission region extending from 225 to near 600 nm with a peak emission close to 330 nm. The quasi-continuous SO2 bands arise primarily from direct excitation of SO2. At 18 and 98 eV, simultaneous excitation and dissociation of SO2 produces distinct vibrational bands from SO and from atomic emission lines from S I, S II, O I, and O II that are superimposed on the SO2 electronic transitions. The laboratory spectra were compared to green/violet color ratios obtained at Io by the Galileo Orbiter Solid State Imaging experiment. The laboratory spectra were also applied to the Cassini Imaging Subsystem to determine which filter combinations are particularly sensitive to electron energy, if the atmospheric gas present in the auroral atmosphere is solely or primarily SO2. (Author)
CHAMP (camera, hand lens and microscope probe) is a field microscope capable of color imaging with continuously variable spatial resolution from infinity imaging down to diffraction-limited ...microscopy (-3 /spl mu/m/pixel). As a robotic arm-mounted imager, CHAMP supports stereo-imaging with variable baselines, can continuously image targets at an increasing magnification during an arm approach, can provide precision range-finding estimates to targets, and can accommodate microscopic imaging of rough surfaces through a image filtering process called z-stacking. CHAMP was originally developed through the Mars Instrument Development Program (MIDP) in support of robotic field investigations, but may also find application in new areas such as robotic in-orbit servicing and maintenance operations associated with spacecraft and human operations. We overview CHAMP's instrument performance and basic design consideration.
Processes resulting in the formation of hydrocarbons of carbonaceous chondrites and the identity of the interstellar molecular precursors involved are an objective of investigations into the origin ...of the solar system and perhaps even life on earth. We have combined the resources and experience of an astronomer and physicists doing laboratory simulations with those of a chemical expert in the analysis of meteoritic hydrocarbons, in a project that investigated the conversion of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) formed in stellar atmospheres into alkanes found in meteorites. Plasma hydrogenation has been found in the University of Alabama at Birmingham Astrophysics Laboratory to produce from the precursor PAH naphthalene, a new material having an IR absorption spectrum (Lee, W. and Wdowiak, T.J., Astrophys. J. 417, L49-L51, 1993) remarkably similar to that obtained at Arizona State University of the benzene-methanol extract of the Murchison meteorite (Cronin, J.R. and Pizzarello, S., Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 54, 2859-2868, 1990). There are astrophysical and meteoritic arguments for PAH species from extra-solar sources being incorporated into the solar nebula, where plasma hydrogenation is highly plausible. Conversion of PAHs into alkanes could also have occurred in the interstellar medium. The synthesis of laboratory analogs of meteoritic hydrocarbons through plasma hydrogenation of PAH species is underway, as is chemical analysis of those analogs. The objective is to clarify this heretofore uninvestigated process and to understand its role during the origin of the solar system as a mechanism of production of hydrocarbon species now found in meteorites. Results have been obtained in the form of time-of-flight spectroscopy and chemical analysis of the lab analog prepared from naphthalene.