Roadmap on carbon molecular nanostructures in space

Abstract

In this roadmap article, we consider the main challenges and recent breakthroughs in understanding the role of carbon molecular nanostructures in space and propose future avenues of research. The focus lies on small carbon-containing molecules up to fullerenes, extending to even larger, more complex organic species. The roadmap contains forty contributions from scientists with leading expertise in observational astronomy, laboratory astrophysics/chemistry, astrobiology, theoretical chemistry, synthetic chemistry, molecular reaction dynamics, material science, spectroscopy, graph theory, and data science. The concerted interdisciplinary combination of the state-of-the-art of these astronomical, laboratory, and theoretical studies opens up new ways to advance the fundamental understanding of the physics and chemistry of cosmic carbon molecular nanostructures and touches on their wider relevance and impact in nanotechnology and catalysis.

Hugh Mohan

PhD Student

Funded by the Irish Research Council (IRC) - Project ID GOIPG/2021/210

Michał Bartkowski

Postdoctoral Researcher

Funded by Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) - Grant ID 2/FFP-A/11067

Silvia Giordani

Full Professor Chair of Nanomaterials

My research interests are in the design, synthesis, and characterization of hybrid smart nanomaterials for biomedical, energy and environmental applications