* Astronomy

Chemists at the University of California, Riverside have created in the laboratory a type of molecule thought to exist only in interstellar space, which may have valuable applications in the chemical industry.

The finding of their paper, titled Cyclopropenylidenes: From Interstellar Space to an Isolated Derivative in the Laboratory has been released in Science Express a precursor to its publication in the journal Science. The co-authors are Vincent Lavallo, Yves Canac and Bruno Donnadieu who work in the laboratory of Distinguished Professor of Chemistry Guy Bertrand at University of California, Riverside; and Chemistry Professor Wolfgang W. Schoeller of Germany’s Universität Bielefeld.

“This is about a compound that is very abundant in deep space, which was supposed to not be able to exist in the laboratory, and we found a way to slightly modify it and make it stable” - Guy Bertrand.

The new molecule belongs to a family of compounds known as carbenes, very few of which are stable. However, carbenes are now widely used to prepare catalysts that have many applications in industries such as pharmaceuticals, plastics and other petrochemicals. The cyclopropenylidene that exists naturally in space is made of three carbon atoms arranged in a triangle with two hydrogen atoms attached.
The University of California, Riverside researchers synthesised a more stable version by replacing the hydrogen with two nitrogen atoms. Because of its unique shape and size, the new carbene prepared at University of California, Riverside might lead to even more powerful catalysts.

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