  Deuterium (D) was exclusively generated in the Big Bang and the standard Big
Bang Nucleosynthesis (BBN) model predicts a primordial abundance of D/H~26ppm.
As the Galaxy evolves, D/H gradually decreases because of astration. The
Galactic chemical evolution (GCE) model predicts a present-day abundance of
D/H~20ppm. However, observations of the local interstellar medium (ISM) have
revealed that the gas-phase interstellar D/H varies considerably from one
region to another and has a median abundance of D/H~13ppm, substantially lower
than predicted from the BBN and GCE models. It has been suggested that the
missing D atoms of D/H~7ppm could have been locked up in deuterated polycyclic
aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) molecules. However, we have previously demonstrated
that PAHs with aromatic C--D units are insufficient to account for the missing
D. Here we explore if PAHs with aliphatic C--D units could be a reservoir of D.
We perform quantum chemical computations of the vibrational spectra of
"superdeuterated" PAHs (in which one D and one H share an C atom) and PAHs
attached with D-substituted methyl group, and derive the band strengths of the
aliphatic C--D stretch (A_4.65). By applying the computationally derived A_4.65
to the observed aliphatic C--D emission at ~4.6--4.8 micron, we find that PAHs
with aliphatic C--D units could have tied up a substantial amount of D/H and
marginally account for the missing D. The possible routes to generate PAHs with
aliphatic C--D units are also discussed.
