INVESTIGATING PREBIOTIC CHEMISTRY WITH CRYOGENIC ACTION SPECTROSCOPY - GAS-PHASE GLYCOLALDEHYDE FORMATION VIA A CATIONIC "FORMOSE" REACTION

Kaur, Hunarpreet

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/122319 Copy

Description

Title

INVESTIGATING PREBIOTIC CHEMISTRY WITH CRYOGENIC ACTION SPECTROSCOPY - GAS-PHASE GLYCOLALDEHYDE FORMATION VIA A CATIONIC "FORMOSE" REACTION

Author(s)

Kaur, Hunarpreet

Contributor(s)

• Brünken, Sandra
• Redlich, Britta
• Pérez-Ríos, Jesús
• Wang, Weiqi

Issue Date

2023-06-20

Keyword(s)

Mini-symposium: Infrared Spectroscopy in the JWST Era

Abstract

Many complex organic molecules (iCOMs) ranging from diatoms to molecules containing up to 70 atoms, including formaldehyde, protonated formaldehyde, and glycolaldehyde have been detected in space using astronomical observations. To understand the synthetic pathways of such potential prebiotic species in space, it is crucial to investigate their formation in the laboratory. In this work, we present results relevant to the synthesis of the simplest “sugar”, glycolaldehyde, using a cryogenic 22-pole ion trap stationed at the infrared free-electron laser laboratory FELIX. We investigate the ion-neutral gas-phase formation of (protonated) glycolaldehyde starting from neutral formaldehyde and its cationic forms, [H₂CO]⁺ and [H₃CO]⁺. Gas-phase vibrational spectra of the reactant [H₃CO]⁺ and the mass-spectroscopically identified products [H₅C₂O]⁺ and [H₅C₂O₂]⁺ were recorded using cryogenic IR action spectroscopy in the frequency range 650-1900 cm⁻¹, and are compared to results of quantum chemical calculations for structural characterization between different isomers. First insights into potential reaction pathways will be presented based on this combined approach, and they will be complemented with a Markov state model of the reaction mechanisms based on molecular dynamics simulations to identify efficient pathways for forming glycolaldehyde and other iCOMs under low-temperature astrophysical conditions.

Publisher

International Symposium on Molecular Spectroscopy

Type of Resource

Text

Language

eng

Handle URL

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/122319

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