  Various studies have emphasized variations of the charge state and
composition of the interstellar polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)
population in photodissociation regions (PDRs). We aim to model the spatial
evolution of the charge and hydrogenation states of PAHs in PDRs. We focus on
the specific case of the north-west (NW) PDR of NGC 7023 and also discuss the
case of the diffuse interstellar medium (ISM). The physical conditions in NGC
7023 NW are modelled using a state-of-the-art PDR code. We then use a new PAH
chemical evolution model that includes recent experimental data on PAHs and
describes multiphoton events. We consider a family of compact PAHs bearing up
to 96 carbon atoms. The calculated ionization ratio is in good agreement with
observations in NGC 7023 NW. Within the PDR, PAHs evolve into three major
populations: medium-sized PAHs (50<Nc<90) are normally hydrogenated, larger
PAHs (Nc>90) can be superhydrogenated, and smaller species (Nc<50) are fully
dehydrogenated. In the cavity, where the fullerene C60 was recently detected,
all the studied PAHs are found to be quickly fully dehydrogenated. PAH chemical
evolution exhibits a complex non-linear behaviour as a function of the UV
radiation field because of multiphoton events. Steady state for hydrogenation
is reached on timescales ranging from less than a year for small PAHs, up to
10000 years for large PAHs at Av=1. We identified critical reactions that need
more studies. Our new model allows us to rationalize the observational
constraints without any fitting parameter. PAHs smaller than 50 carbon atoms
are not expected to survive in the NGC 7023 NW PDR. A similar conclusion is
obtained for the diffuse ISM. Carbon clusters turn out to be end products of
PAH photodissociation, and the evolution of these clusters needs to be
investigated further to evaluate their impact on the chemical and physical
evolution of PDRs.
