Gamma radiation can convert methane into a wide variety of products at room temperature, including hydrocarbons, oxygen-containing molecules, and amino acids, reports a research team. This type of reaction probably plays an important role in the formation of complex organic molecules in the universe -- and possibly in the origin of life.
They also open up new strategies for the industrial conversion of methane into high value-added products under mild conditions.
With these research results, the team led by Weixin Huang at the University of Science and Technology of China has contributed to our fundamental understanding of the early development of molecules in the universe."Gamma rays, high-energy photons commonly existing in cosmic rays and unstable isotope decay, provide external energy to drive chemical reactions of simple molecules in the icy mantles of interstellar dust and ice grains," states Huang.
Silicon dioxide leads to a more selective conversion of methane to acetic acid. Says Huang,"because gamma radiation is an easily available, safe, and sustainable source of energy, this could be a new approach for using methane as a carbon source that can be efficiently converted into value-added products under mild conditions -- a long-standing challenge for industrial synthetic chemistry.
Cosmic Rays Space Telescopes Cosmology Nebulae Space Exploration NASA Space Station
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