| Abstract : | Water is commonly presumed to be closely associated with the origin of life. It is both an important solvent and a catalyst for chemical processes to occur [1]. Especially, the water molecule is a significant site for hydrogen bonding. In this context, what role might water have played in the evolution of molecules in the interstellar medium [2] (ISM), wherein owing to the low temperatures in the ranges amenable for chemical evolution, reactions with a high energy barrier are hard to occur? [3]
This poster addresses the above-mentioned question with the aid of electronic structure calculations. We study the effect of a single water molecule on gas-phase interstellar reactions. Adding a water molecule in our simulations, we study the kinetics of the reactions involving water via monitoring the activation energy barrier. We observe a trend that marks an appreciable decrease in the energy barrier for the reaction with the involvement of water. The extent of the decrease in the energy can be explained depending on the extent of hydrogen bonding. Overall, this work presents a putative mechanism for how water may be involved in interstellar gas-phase reactions to facilitate the formation of complex organic molecules in the ISM.
References:
1. Saa, J. M.; Frontera, A., On the role of water as a catalyst in prebiotic chemistry. ChemPhysChem 2020, 21 (4), 313-320
2. Endres, C. P.; Schlemmer, S.; Schilke, P.; Stutzki, J.; Müller, H. S., The cologne database for molecular spectroscopy, CDMS, in the virtual atomic and molecular data centre, VAMDC. Journal of Molecular Spectroscopy 2016, 327, 95-104
3.Herbst, E., Chemistry in the interstellar medium. Annual Review of Physical Chemistry 1995, 46 (1), 27-54
|
