▎ 摘　　要

The possible presence of graphene in the interstellar medium (ISM) is examined by comparing the interstellar extinction curve with the ultraviolet absorption of graphene calculated from its dielectric functions experimentally obtained with the electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) method. Based on the absence in the interstellar extinction curve of the similar to 2755 angstrom pi-pi* electronic interband transition of graphene, we place an upper limit of similar to 20 ppm of C/H on the interstellar graphene abundance, exceeding the previous estimate by a factor of similar to 3 which made use of the dielectric functions measured with the spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) method. Compared with the SE method which measures graphene in air (and hence its surface is contaminated) in a limited energy range of similar to 0.7-5 eV, the EELS probes a much wider energy range of similar to 0-50 eV and is free of contamination. The fact that the EELS dielectric functions are substantially smaller than that of SE naturally explains why a higher upper limit on the graphene abundance is derived with EELS. Inspired by the possible detection of C-24, a planar graphene sheet, in several Galactic and extragalactic planetary nebulae, we also examine the possible presence of C-24 in the diffuse ISM by comparing the model IR emission of C-24 with the observed IR emission of the Galactic cirrus and the diffuse ISM towards l = 44 degrees 20' and b = -0 degrees 20'. An upper limit of similar to 20 ppm on C-24 is also derived from the absence of the characteristic vibrational bands of C-24 at similar to 6.6, 9.8, and 20 mu m in the observed IR emission.