Russian scientists have discovered the synthesis of organic matter from water and carbon in cosmic nebulae
Photo: National Cancer Institute / Unsplash
Russian scientists have discovered a new mechanism for the formation of formaldehyde in space – a compound that plays an important role in the synthesis of organic compounds necessary for the appearance of life on Earth. This was reported in a press release published on the website Godnauki.rf.
Researchers have shown that formaldehyde is formed from carbon atoms and water ice. Previously, it was thought that this was not possible, since a chemical reaction requires a large amount of energy, which is not enough in nebulae. Scientists assumed that such a process occurs only in the late stages of the existence of molecular clouds, when large concentrations of CO in a solid state are present on the surface of cosmic dust.
According to the new results, organic molecules can appear in molecular clouds in the early stages of evolution, that is, much earlier than the formation of stars in them. In this case, water is presented in the form of amorphous ice, which occurs when the molecules are instantly cooled, which do not have time to line up in a regular lattice. In this form, complexes of water with carbon atoms are formed, which freeze out of the gas in the interstellar medium.
Water molecules carry out the transfer of protons from oxygen atoms to a carbon atom, which catalyzes the formaldehyde synthesis reaction without the need for a large amount of energy.
