IN SITU PHOTO-KINETICS AND SPECTROSCOPY OF ORGANIC AEROSOLS

At the end of the Cassini era, many of the mysteries surrounding Titan’s atmosphere have yet to be unraveled. To enhance the return of the Cassini data, our group has been carrying out the first cryogenic photochemistry of aromatic aerosol analogs. To date, the majority of photochemical aerosols have been generated at ambient room conditions. Our study represents one of the first attempts to follow the aerosol kinetics from ambient temperatures towards the cryogenic conditions found on Titan. Using a custom build cryo-photolysis chamber with in situ UV-Vis spectroscopy, it is possible to follow both the initial photodissociation of the starting aromatics and the formation of bulk aerosols in the reaction vessel.