Bibcode
Cataldo, Franco; Strazzulla, Giovanni; Iglesias-Groth, S.
Bibliographical reference
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 394, Issue 2, pp. 615-623.
Advertised on:
4
2009
Citations
55
Refereed citations
47
Description
The stability of C60 and C70 fullerenes in the
interstellar medium deposited on dust surface or embedded in meteorites
and comets has been simulated with γ irradiation and with
He+ ion bombardment. It is shown by vibrational spectroscopy
that a γ radiation dose of 2.6MGy (1Gy = 1 joule absorbed energy
per kilogram) causes partial oligomerization of both C60 and
C70 fullerenes. Oligomers are made by fullerene cages
chemically connected each other which can yield back free fullerenes by
a thermal treatment. The amount of irreversibly polymerized fullerenes
caused by 2.6MGy as deduced as the toluene insoluble fraction has been
determined as 1.7 and 15 per cent by weight, respectively, for
C60 and C70 fullerene. The radiation dose
generated by radionuclides decay and expected to be delivered to
fullerenes buried at a depth of more than 20m in comets and meteorites
is about 3MGy per 109yr. Since fullerenes are by far
resistant to such radiation dose they can survive for at least some
billion years inside comets and meteorites and in fact have been
detected inside certain carbonaceous chondrites. On the other hand, the
direct exposure of fullerenes to cosmic rays for instance when they are
adsorbed or deposited on the surface of carbon dust corresponds to the
delivery of a radiation dose comprised between 30 and 65MGy per
109yr. Experimental bombardment of both C60 and
C70 fullerenes for instance with He+ ions has
shown that the complete amorphization occurs at about 250MGy. Thus in ~4
Gyr exposure to cosmic rays it is expected a complete amorphization.
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