Astrobiological relevance of phenols and their silicates

摘要

We have prepared solid silicates of various phenols and have studied them by the IR (infra-red) spectroscopy. Phenols are organic compounds that are important in biology. Only very recently phenols have been synthesized in prebiotic manner. They are formed under the hydrothermal conditions and also under the simulated conditions of the interstellar space. Solid phenol silicates, which we have prepared, are ideally suited for the preservation of phenols on prebiotic Earth and in space, and for their transportation in space. The reflectance IR spectra of phenol silicates were taken and are currently being analyzed. Our goal is to determine if phenols are entombed, covalently bound, or both, in respect to the silicate matrix. We have also prepared fluorescent phenol silicates.