Size study of dust produced in a CCP RF discharge for the simulation of Titan’s chemistry.

A radio-frequency discharge in a N₂-CH₄ gaseous mixture is used to reproduce Titan’s aerosols. To understand the dust growth mechanisms, the effect of different parameters on their size is studied. It is shown that the tholins are bigger for a large amount of methane and for a lower gas flow in the plasma. The evolution of tholins’ size with plasma duration is also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]