Titan tholin solubility in liquid ethane enhanced by intermediate isopentane solution

IF 1.9 4区物理与天体物理 Q3 ASTRONOMY & ASTROPHYSICS

Planetary and Space Science Pub Date : 2026-03-01 Epub Date: 2026-02-12 DOI:10.1016/j.pss.2026.106254

Christopher P. McKay

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Abstract

Solid organic particles, tholin, produced in Titan's atmosphere come in contact with liquid methane and ethane through rain and in lakes on the surface. Laboratory investigation of the solubility of tholin with the surface hydrocarbons is difficult due to the low solubility in the non-polar, low-temperature liquids. Here we suggest an approach to bypass kinetic limitations by first using high-temperature non-polar hydrocarbons and then replacing the solvent with the cryogenic liquid. To test this, we have measured the solubility of Titan tholin in three solutions: A. isopentane at room temperature, B. liquid ethane at 91 K which was derived from the isopentane solution, and C. liquid ethane at 91 K. Our results suggest that there is considerable solubility of tholin in isopentane at room temperature and that a liquid ethane solution derived from that isopentane mixture retains up to 5% for specific solutes from the isopentane solution. In contrast, a solution from tholin mixed directly with liquid ethane contained much less solute. Further refined and tested, this approach could be of use for laboratory studies of tholin solubility.

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中间异戊烷溶液提高了泰坦索林在液态乙烷中的溶解度

在土卫六的大气中产生的固体有机颗粒，即多林，通过雨水和表面的湖泊与液态甲烷和乙烷接触。由于在非极性、低温液体中溶解度低，在实验室中很难研究索林与表面碳氢化合物的溶解度。在这里，我们提出了一种绕过动力学限制的方法，首先使用高温非极性碳氢化合物，然后用低温液体代替溶剂。为了验证这一点，我们测量了Titan tholin在三种溶液中的溶解度：A.室温下的异戊烷，B.从异戊烷溶液中提取的91 K液态乙烷，C. 91 K液态乙烷。我们的结果表明，在室温下，索林在异戊烷中具有相当大的溶解度，并且由该异戊烷混合物衍生的液态乙烷溶液对异戊烷溶液中的特定溶质保留了高达5%的溶质。相比之下，由索林直接与液态乙烷混合而成的溶液所含溶质要少得多。进一步改进和测试，这种方法可以用于实验室研究的溶解度。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Planetary and Space Science 地学天文-天文与天体物理

CiteScore

5.40

自引率

4.20%

发文量

126

审稿时长

15 weeks

期刊介绍： Planetary and Space Science publishes original articles as well as short communications (letters). Ground-based and space-borne instrumentation and laboratory simulation of solar system processes are included. The following fields of planetary and solar system research are covered: • Celestial mechanics, including dynamical evolution of the solar system, gravitational captures and resonances, relativistic effects, tracking and dynamics • Cosmochemistry and origin, including all aspects of the formation and initial physical and chemical evolution of the solar system • Terrestrial planets and satellites, including the physics of the interiors, geology and morphology of the surfaces, tectonics, mineralogy and dating • Outer planets and satellites, including formation and evolution, remote sensing at all wavelengths and in situ measurements • Planetary atmospheres, including formation and evolution, circulation and meteorology, boundary layers, remote sensing and laboratory simulation • Planetary magnetospheres and ionospheres, including origin of magnetic fields, magnetospheric plasma and radiation belts, and their interaction with the sun, the solar wind and satellites • Small bodies, dust and rings, including asteroids, comets and zodiacal light and their interaction with the solar radiation and the solar wind • Exobiology, including origin of life, detection of planetary ecosystems and pre-biological phenomena in the solar system and laboratory simulations • Extrasolar systems, including the detection and/or the detectability of exoplanets and planetary systems, their formation and evolution, the physical and chemical properties of the exoplanets • History of planetary and space research