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| Open AccessMolecular mass growth through ring expansion in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons via radical–radical reactions
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) represent key molecular building blocks in extraterrestrial environments but the understanding of their formation and growth in this environment has remained elusive. Here the authors reveal how naphthalene can be efficiently formed via rapid radical–radical reactions.
- Long Zhao
- , Ralf. I. Kaiser
- & Stanislaw F. Wnuk
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Article
| Open AccessOrganometallic compounds as carriers of extraterrestrial cyanide in primitive meteorites
Cyanide is thought to be crucial for the origin of life. Here, the authors showed that iron cyanocarbonyl complexes are present in meteorites and propose that these compounds were a source of free cyanide on early Earth and served as precursors to the active sites of ancient hydrogenases.
- Karen E. Smith
- , Christopher H. House
- & Michael P. Callahan
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| Open AccessXUV excitation followed by ultrafast non-adiabatic relaxation in PAH molecules as a femto-astrochemistry experiment
Extreme UV light sources allow us to study the dynamics of excited molecular stets over remarkably short timeframes. Here, the authors probe polyaromatic hydrocarbons—large organic molecules—and show their electronic excitation and subsequent ultrafast relaxation.
- A. Marciniak
- , V. Despré
- & F. Lépine
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Article
| Open AccessEvidence for methane in Martian meteorites
Extremophiles on Earth are known to respire methane, and the potential existence of methane on Mars indicates similar organisms could survive there. Here, the authors present data from Martian meteorites confirming the presence of methane, indicating that a habitat capable of supporting organisms exists on Mars.
- Nigel J. F. Blamey
- , John Parnell
- & Roberta L. Flemming
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Graphene etching on SiC grains as a path to interstellar polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons formation
Although polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons have been observed in interstellar space, their formation mechanism is still unclear. Here, Merino et al.present a proof-of-concept study that these molecules can form in a top-down route on a graphitized surface of silicon-carbide stardust.
- P. Merino
- , M. Švec
- & J.A. Martin-Gago