Formation of methanol from methane and water in an electrical discharge.
Matrix isolation FTIR experiments have shown that methanol is a major product when argon gas doped with water and methane is exposed to an electrical discharge and condensed to a solid matrix at 11 K. Experiments with (2)H, (17)O and (18)O-labeled isotopologues show the mechanism for the methanol production is likely to be insertion of an excited oxygen atom in the (1)D state into a C-H bond of a methane molecule. In light of these experiments, the possibility of oxygen atom insertion into methane should be considered as a possible mechanism for the production of methanol in interstellar ices.
Chemistry, School of Biomedical, Biomolecular and Chemical Sciences, The University of Western Australia M313, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, Western Australia 6009.
Michael P
MP
Pearce
Madeleine J
MJ
Bussemaker
Paul D
PD
Cooper
Kim M
KM
Lapere
Duncan A
DA
Wild
Allan J
AJ
McKinley
D001128:Argon / Q000737:chemistry; D004560:Electricity; D008697:Methane / Q000737:chemistry*; D000432:Methanol / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000737:chemistry; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry*
D014867:Water; D001128:Argon; D008697:Methane; D000432:Methanol