Formamide Adsorption at the Amorphous Silica Surface: A Combined Experimental and Computational Approach.

ABSTRACT: Mineral surfaces have been demonstrated to play a central role in prebiotic reactions, which are understood to be at the basis of the origin of life. Among the various molecules proposed as precursors for these reactions, one of the most interesting is formamide. Formamide has been shown to be a pluripotent molecule, generating a wide distribution of relevant prebiotic products. In particular, the outcomes of its reactivity are strongly related to the presence of mineral phases acting as catalysts toward specific reaction pathways. While the mineral⁻products relationship has been deeply studied for a large pool of materials, the fundamental description of formamide reactivity over mineral surfaces at a microscopic level is missing in the literature. In particular, a key step of formamide c

SUBMITTER: Signorile M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6316577 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature