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New Insights into the Characterization of ‘Insoluble Black HCN Polymers’
Author(s) -
RuizBermejo Marta,
de la Fuente José L.,
Rogero Celia,
MenorSalván César,
OsunaEsteban Susana,
MartínGago José A.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
chemistry and biodiversity
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.427
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1612-1880
pISSN - 1612-1872
DOI - 10.1002/cbdv.201100036
Subject(s) - chemistry , polymer , tetramer , polymerization , oligomer , characterization (materials science) , aqueous solution , trimer , matrix (chemical analysis) , polymer chemistry , organic chemistry , polymer science , nanotechnology , dimer , materials science , chromatography , enzyme
The data presented here provide a novel contribution to the understanding of the structural features of HCN polymers and could be useful in further development of models for prebiotic chemistry. The interpretation of spectroscopic and analytical data, along with previous results reported by other authors, allowed us to propose a mechanism for the aqueous polymerization of HCN from its primary and simplest isolated oligomer, the diaminomaleonitrile (DAMN) tetramer. We suggest that ‘insoluble black HCN polymers’ are formed by an unsaturated complex matrix, which retains a significant amount of H 2 O and important bioorganic compounds or their precursors. This polymeric matrix can be formed by various motifs of imidazoles and cyclic amides, among others. The robust formation of HCN polymers assayed under several conditions seems to explain the plausible ubiquity of these complex substances in space.