Journal
ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE-INTERNATIONAL EDITION
Volume 58, Issue 17, Pages 5663-5667Publisher
WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH
DOI: 10.1002/anie.201901059
Keywords
glyoxylate scenario; mass spectrometry; non-equilibrium chemistry; photoionization; reactive intermediates
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Funding
- Fonds der Chemischen Industrie
- Volkswagen Foundation (What is Life grant) [92 748]
- US National Science Foundation, Division of Astronomical Sciences [AST-1800975]
- W. M. Keck Foundation
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With nearly 200 molecules detected in interstellar and circumstellar environments, the identification of the biologically relevant alpha-keto carboxylic acid, glyoxylic acid (HCOCOOH), is still elusive. Herein, the formation of glyoxylic acid via cosmic-ray driven, non-equilibrium chemistry in polar interstellar ices of carbon monoxide (CO) and water (H2O) at 5 K via barrierless recombination of formyl (HCO) and hydroxycarbonyl radicals (HOCO) is reported. In temperature-programmed desorption experiments, the subliming neutral molecules were selectively photoionized and identified based on the ionization energy and distinct mass-to-charge ratios in combination with isotopically labeled experiments exploiting reflectron time-of-flight mass spectrometry. These studies unravel a key reaction path to glyoxylic acid, an organic molecule formed in interstellar ices before subliming in star-forming regions like SgrB2(N), thus providing a critical entry point to prebiotic organic synthesis.
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