Low Temperature Formation of Pyridine and (iso)quinoline Via Neutral Neutral Reactions

Aromatic molecules represent fundamental building blocks in prebiotic chemistry and are contemplated as vital precursors to DNA and RNA nitrogen bases.

However, despite the identification of some 300 molecules in extraterrestrial environments, the pathways to pyridine (C₅H₅N), pyridinyl (C₅H₄N), and (iso)quinoline (C₉H₇N) the simplest representative of mono and bicyclic aromatic molecule carrying nitrogen are elusive.

Here, we afford compelling evidence on the gas phase formation of methylene amidogen (H₂CN) and cyanomethyl (H₂CCN) radicals via molecular beam studies and electronic structure calculations.

The modeling of the chemistries of Taurus Molecular Cloud (TMC 1) and Titans atmosphere contemplates a complex chain of reactions synthesizing pyridine, pyridinyl, and (iso)quinoline from H₂CN and H₂CCN at levels of up to 75%.

This study affords unique entry points to precursors of DNA and RNA nitrogen bases in hydrocarbon rich extraterrestrial environments thus changing the way we think about the origin of prebiotic molecules in our Galaxy.

Zhenghai Yang, Chao He, Shane J. Goettl, Alexander M. Mebel, Paulo F. G. Velloso, Márcio O. Alves, Breno R. L. Galvão, Jean-Christophe Loison, Kevin M. Hickson, Michel Dobrijevic, Xiaohu Li, Ralf I. Kaiser

Comments: Main paper and supplementary information file
Subjects: Chemical Physics (physics.chem-ph); Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA)
Cite as: arXiv:2406.16945 [physics.chem-ph] (or arXiv:2406.16945v1 [physics.chem-ph] for this version)
Related DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-024-02267-y
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Submission history
From: Kevin Hickson
[v1] Wed, 19 Jun 2024 08:02:06 UTC (2,405 KB)
https://arxiv.org/abs/2406.16945
Astrobiology, Astrochemistry,