Formamide-Based Post-impact Thermal Prebiotic Synthesis in Simulated Craters: Intermediates, Products and Mechanism

0558477 - ÚFCH JH 2023 RIV CH eng J - Journal Article
Ferus, Martin - Knížek, Antonín - Petera, Lukáš - Pastorek, Adam - Hrnčířová, J. - Jankovič, L. - Ivanek, Ondřej - Šponer, Jiří - Křivková, Anna - Saeidfirozeh, Homa - Civiš, Svatopluk - Chatzitheodoridis, E. - Mráziková, Klaudia - Nejdl, L. - Saija, F. - Šponer, Judit E. - Cassone, G.
Formamide-Based Post-impact Thermal Prebiotic Synthesis in Simulated Craters: Intermediates, Products and Mechanism.
Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences. Roč. 9, May 2022 (2022), č. článku 882145. E-ISSN 2296-987X
R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA21-11366S; GA MŠMT EF16_019/0000778
Institutional support: RVO:61388955 ; RVO:68081707
Keywords : high-energy chemistry * organic-molecules * gale crater * basis-sets * unified mechanism * hydrogen-cyanide * building-blocks * shock synthesis * purine ring * amino-acids * prebiotic chemistry * origin of life * formamide * FTIR spectroscopy * quantum-mechanical calculations * ab initio molecular dynamics * metadynamics
OECD category: Physical chemistry; Physical chemistry (BFU-R)
Impact factor: 3, year: 2022
Method of publishing: Open access

Influx of matter from impacting meteoroids and hydrothermal crater weathering are important factors modifying the rock and mineral inventory of young planets undergoing heavy bombardment. These processes may have influenced not only the geochemical environment of, e.g., early Mars and other planets, but also the peculiar prebiotic chemistry on early Earth. Here, we present a synergistic experimental and computational investigation of the intermediates of chemical reactions of the formamide-based synthesis of canonical and non-canonical nucleobases by thermochemistry in hot hydrothermal crater environments. We put our findings into context with previously investigated plasma-initiated synthesis occuring directly during impact. Both processes result into the formation of all canonical nucleobases, hypoxanthine, purine, and into the onset of the simplest amino acid glycine. Furthermore, it turns out that radical species such as CN and H play a key role in the plasma-assisted impact chemistry. However, post-impact thermochemistry is essential for the origin of formamidine and 2-aminoacetonitrile, intermediate species detected in this study by means of FTIR spectroscopy.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0332124