Spectroscopic FTIR study for pathway of ribose formation via formose reaction in Astrochemistry

Abstract

Ribose is one of the crucial molecular species in the study of the origin of life as it is the backbone of ribonucleic acid (RNA). On the early Earth, sugars including ribose are thought to be formed through formose reaction. Ribose and other organic molecules were also found in meteorites, signifying their existence in interstellar space, providing them with the essential components for prebiotic chemistry. The formose reaction can produce a mixture of simple sugars from formaldehyde molecules. In our study, we successfully synthesized sugars using the formose reaction under both thermal conditions and microwave irradiation. Notably, sugars were obtained within a remarkably short duration of 1 minute under microwave irradiation. The identification and characterization of the synthesized products were achieved through Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and Fehling’s test, confirming the successful synthesis of sugars and the presence of aldehyde and alcohol functional groups. In addition, we propose an alternative pathway for sugar synthesis, which holds promise for further exploring the formose reaction in astrochemical experiments.