Roadmap on carbon molecular nanostructures in space

Abstract

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