Preparation and Photochemistry of Hydroxy Isocyanate

29 April 2025, Version 1
This content is a preprint and has not undergone peer review at the time of posting.

Abstract

We describe the first spectroscopic identification of hitherto experimentally unreported hydroxy isocyanate HONCO, a potential candidate for the interstellar medium and prebiotic chemistry. This planar chain molecule was prepared in the gas phase through flash vacuum pyrolysis of phenyl N-hydroxycarbamate at 650 °C and was subsequently trapped in argon matrices at 3.5 K. Its characterization was accomplished by means of matrix isolation IR and UV/Vis spectroscopy together with quantum chemical calculations. Upon the UV light (λ = 313 nm) irradiation, HONCO decomposes into hydrogen-bonded complexes of HON and HNO with CO.

Keywords

Isocyanate
Matrix-isolation
Photochemistry
Prebiotic molecules
Pyrolysis

Supplementary materials

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Supporting Information
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Additional experimental details, spectra, and computational data.
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