Evidence on the formation of dimers of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in a laminar diffusion flame

A comprehensive understanding of soot nucleation in flame combustion is still lacking. Here the authors identify homo- and heterodimers of small-to-moderate size polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the gas to soot transition region of a laminar diffusion methane flame as viable intermediates in the soot nucleation process. The role of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the formation of nascent soot particles in flames is well established and yet the detailed mechanisms are still not fully understood. Here we provide experimental evidence of the occurrence of dimerization of PAHs in the gas phase before soot formation in a laminar diffusion methane flame, supporting the hypothesis of stabilization of dimers through the formation of covalent bonds. The main findings of this work derive from the comparative chemical analysis of samples extracted from the gas to soot transition region of a laminar diffusion methane flame, and highlight two different groups of hydrocarbons that coexist in the same mass range, but show distinctly different behavior when processed with statistical analysis. In particular, the identified hydrocarbons are small-to-moderate size PAHs (first group) and their homo- and heterodimers stabilized by the formation of covalent bonds (second group).