Evolution of organic aerosols under conditions similar to Titan's ionosphere

Audrey Chatain (1, 2) , Nathalie Carrasco (3) , Olivier Guaitella (1) , N. Ruscassier (4)

1 LPP - Laboratoire de Physique des Plasmas
2 PLANETO - LATMOS
3 IUF - Institut Universitaire de France
4 LGPM - Laboratoire de Génie des Procédés et Matériaux - EA 4038

Titan's ionosphere is a dusty plasma where complex organic aerosols are formed. As they have a strong prebiotic interest, we would like to understand how they are formed and how they interact with the surrounding plasma. Here we simulate this interaction dust-plasma in a DC reactor. We place analogues of Titan's aerosols in a N2-H2 discharge and follow their infrared absorption spectrum all along the exposure. The evolution of the surface state of the sample is also observed by scanning electron microscopy. First experiments indicate some modifications in the absorption bands and in the surface structure. Therefore, the organic aerosols seem to be physically and chemically altered by the plasma.

Domains: Sciences of the Universe [physics]

Audrey Chatain, Nathalie Carrasco, Olivier Guaitella, N. Ruscassier. Evolution of organic aerosols under conditions similar to Titan's ionosphere. European Planetary Science Congress 2018, Sep 2018, Berlin, Germany. EPSC2018-200-1 (2p.). ⟨insu-02299244⟩