Laboratory experiments of Titan tholin formed in cold plasma at various pressures: implications for nitrogen-containing polycyclic aromatic compounds in Titan haze

Abstract

Titan, the largest satellite of Saturn, has a thick nitrogen/methane atmosphere with a thick global organic haze. A laboratory analogue of Titan's haze, called tholin, was formed in an inductively coupled plasma from nitrogen/methane=90/10 gas mixture at various pressures ranging from 13 to 2300 Pa. Chemical and optical properties of the resulting tholin depend on the deposition pressure in cold plasma. Structural analyses by IR and UV/VIS spectroscopy, microprobe laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry, and Raman spectroscopy suggest that larger amounts of aromatic ring structures with larger cluster size are formed at lower pressures (13 and 26 Pa) than at higher pressures (160 and 2300 Pa). Nitrogen is more likely to incorporate into carbon networks in tholins formed at lower pressures, while nitrogen is bonded as terminal groups at higher pressures. Elemental analysis reveals that the carbon/nitrogen ratio in tholins increases from 1.5–2 at lower pressures to 3 at 2300 Pa. The increase in the aromatic compounds and the decrease in C/N ratio in tholin formed at low pressures indicate the presence of the nitrogen-containing polycyclic aromatic compounds in tholin formed at low pressures. Tholin formed at high pressure (2300 Pa) consists of a polymer-like branched chain structure terminated with CH 3, NH 2, and CN with few aromatic compounds. Reddish-brown tholin films formed at low pressures (13–26 Pa) shows stronger absorptions (almost 10 times larger k-value) in the UV/VIS range than the yellowish tholin films formed at high pressures (160 and 2300 Pa). The tholins formed at low pressures may be better representations of Titan's haze than those formed at high pressures, because the optical properties of tholin formed at low pressures agree well with that of Khare et al. (1984a, Icarus 60, 127–137), which have been shown to account for Titan's observed geometric albedo. Thus, the nitrogen-containing polycyclic aromatic compounds we find in tholin formed at low pressure may be present in Titan's haze. These aromatic compounds may have a significant influence on the thermal structure and complex organic chemistry in Titan's atmosphere, because they are efficient absorbers of UV radiation and efficient charge exchange intermediaries. Our results also indicate that the haze layers at various altitudes might have different chemical and optical properties.