Department of Chemistry, University of Basel, Klingelbergstrasse 80, Basel, 4056, Switzerland.
Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2017 Apr 24;56(18):4920-4929. doi: 10.1002/anie.201612117. Epub 2017 Mar 30.
In 1985 the football structure of C , buckminsterfullerene was proposed and subsequently confirmed following its macroscopic synthesis in 1990. From the very beginning the role of C and C in space was considered, particularly in the context of the enigmatic diffuse interstellar bands. These are absorption features found in the spectra of reddened star light. The first astronomical observations were made around one hundred years ago and despite significant efforts none of the interstellar molecules responsible have been identified. The absorption spectrum of C was measured in a 5 K neon matrix in 1993 and two prominent bands near 9583 Å and 9645 Å were observed. On the basis of this data the likely wavelength range in which the gas phase C absorptions should lie was predicted. In 1994 two diffuse interstellar bands were found in this spectral region and proposed to be due to C . It took over 20 years to measure the absorption spectrum of C under conditions similar to those prevailing in diffuse clouds. In 2015, sophisticated laboratory experiments led to the confirmation that these two interstellar bands are indeed caused by C , providing the first answer to this century old puzzle. Here, we describe the experiments, concepts and astronomical observations that led to the detection of C in interstellar space.
1985 年，人们提出了 C 足球结构，随后在 1990 年其宏观合成后得到了证实。从一开始，就考虑了 C 和 C 在太空中的作用，特别是在神秘的弥漫星际带的背景下。这些是在红移恒星光的光谱中发现的吸收特征。第一批天文观测是在大约一百年前进行的，尽管付出了巨大的努力，但仍未确定负责这些星际分子的身份。1993 年，在 5 K 氖基质中测量了 C 的吸收光谱，观察到了两个在 9583 Å 和 9645 Å 附近的显著谱带。根据这些数据，预测了气相 C 吸收应该存在的可能波长范围。1994 年，在该光谱区域发现了两个弥漫星际带，并提出它们是由 C 引起的。花了 20 多年的时间，在类似于弥漫云的条件下测量 C 的吸收光谱。2015 年，复杂的实验室实验证实了这两个星际带确实是由 C 引起的，这为这个存在了一个世纪的谜题提供了第一个答案。在这里，我们描述了导致在星际空间中检测到 C 的实验、概念和天文观测。
