Experimental study of water-ice catalyzed thermal isomerization of cyanamide into carbodiimide: implication for prebiotic chemistry.
Cyanamide (NH2CN) is a molecule of interstellar interest which can be implied in prebiotic chemistry. We showed, by FTIR spectroscopy, that cyanamide can be isomerized in carbodiimide (HNCNH), another interstellar relevant molecule, by a reaction involving the amorphous water-ice surface as catalyst. This isomerization occurs at low temperature (T < 100 K) which agrees quite well with that expected in the interstellar clouds composed of dust grains in which water is the most predominant constituent.
Duvernay
Fabrice
F
Physique des Interactions Ioniques et Moléculaires, UMR 6633, Université de Provence et CNRS, Centre de St. Jérôme, case 252, 13397 Marseille Cedex 20, France.
Chiavassa
Thierry
T
Borget
Fabien
F
Aycard
Jean-Pierre
JP
D002234:Carbodiimides / Q000737:chemistry*; D002384:Catalysis; D002625:Chemistry, Organic; D003484:Cyanamide / Q000737:chemistry*; D006358:Hot Temperature; D007053:Ice; D007536:Isomerism; D055601:Organic Chemistry Phenomena; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared / Q000379:methods; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry*
D002234:Carbodiimides; D007053:Ice; D014867:Water; D003484:Cyanamide