Scientists at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa have managed to create a molecule that chemists have been talking about for over a hundred years but had never actually seen: methanetetrol. This molecule, with the formula C(OH)₄, and being referred to as a "super alcohol", is unusual because it has four hydroxyl (OH) groups all attached to a single carbon atom. On Earth, it falls apart too quickly to exist under normal conditions, which is why it had remained out of reach until now.
The team recreated the extreme environment found deep inside interstellar clouds, where stars and planets form. They worked at ultra-cold temperatures of just 5–10 K (that’s only a few degrees above absolute zero) and at pressures lower than 10⁻¹⁰ Torr, which is close to a perfect vacuum. They also blasted the samples with high-energy radiation to mimic the secondary electrons produced when galactic cosmic rays hit icy space dust. These are one of the few energy sources that can reach the inside of such clouds.
The researchers used model ices made from water and carbon dioxide, then shone synchrotron-generated vacuum ultraviolet light on them. This light, combined with a sensitive detection method called photoionization, allowed them to spot tiny amounts of methanetetrol forming. They also detected two important intermediate molecules along the way: carbonic acid (HOCOOH) and methanetriol, which was only recently reported in other work. This confirmed the reaction pathway that leads to methanetetrol.
“In collaborations with scientists from Mississippi, Samara University and Shanghai, this work pushes the boundaries of what we know about chemistry in space,” said Department of Chemistry Professor Ralf I. Kaiser.
Computer models backed up the lab results, suggesting that if carbonic acid is common enough in space, methanetetrol could also be out there, waiting to be detected by telescopes. The fact that it can form under these simulated cosmic conditions shows that the chemistry of space is more surprising and varied than scientists once thought.
Methanetetrol’s instability on Earth means we are unlikely to find it naturally here, but in the cold, low-pressure regions of space, it could survive long enough to play a role in building more complex organic molecules. These kinds of molecules are considered important in the chain of events that can eventually lead to life.
The team now plans to study how methanetetrol interacts with other molecules under similar space-like conditions. This could help explain how simple compounds in space evolve into the larger, more complex structures that are the chemical precursors of life. The discovery also gives astronomers a new target to look for when studying the chemistry of interstellar clouds.
Source: University of Hawai"i, Nature
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