Non-Equilibrium Growth Processes to Glyceraldehyde and Glycerol as Building Blocks of Interstellar Sugars and Phospholipids
O) ice analogs subjected to simulated galactic cosmic rays (GCRs), including aldoses and polyols (glycolaldehyde, ethylene glycol, glyceraldehyde, and glycerol), as well as other compounds like glyoxal, methoxymethanol, (methoxymethoxy)methanol, formic acid, and methanetriol. The identification of these oxygen-bearing COMs was achieved using synchrotron vacuum ultraviolet photoionization reflectron time-of-flight mass spectrometry (SVUV-PI-ReToF-MS) during the temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) phase. Their unambiguous assignment was further confirmed by isotopic labeling experiments and by fitting the photoionization efficiency (PIE) curves of the parent product and fragment ions. The efficient synthesis of these COMs reveals constraints of the molecular complexity and reaction pathways available for forming aldoses and polyols in space, expanding our understanding of how such biorelevant precursors form in the extraterrestrial environments and their potential role in the abiotic origin of life on Earth.
Authors
- Jiuzhong Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7076-3412)
- Jinghui Lu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7149-6961)
- Qiang Gong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8502-6813)
- Yang Pan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9360-3809)
- Zhenrong Sun
- Tao Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4101-2385)
- Xilin Bai
- Ralf I. Kaiser (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7233-7206)
Institutions
- University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (US)
- University of Science and Technology of China (CN)
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory (CN)
- Applied Precision (Slovakia) (SK)
- Shanxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (CN)
- National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory (CN)
- Astronomical Observatory (RS)
- East China Normal University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of the American Chemical Society
- Published
- 2026-05-13
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.6c04482
- Primary Topic
- Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- East China Normal University
- National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory
- University of Hawai'i at Mānoa
- Program for Professor of Special Appointment (Eastern Scholar) at Shanghai Institutions of Higher Learning
- Division of Astronomical Sciences