Discovery of a new type of highly reactive chemical in the atmosphere | Science

Most of the air we breathe is made up of nitrogen, partly oxygen and a small amount of carbon dioxide, but the rest of the air that makes up our atmosphere is an encyclopedia of various compounds and elements that we can only speculate about.

Inside New study Published in the May 26 issue of “Science” magazine, one of these mysteries came to light, and chemists discovered a reactive type of compound called organic hydrogen trioxide in the atmosphere, and although they are short-lived, they can have unknown effects.

Fresh mix

In fact, according to the researchers’ calculations, we inhale a few billion molecules as we read this article, but we do not know the impact of having these compounds on your health – not to mention the safety of our planet – but we have discovered these new elements in the Earth’s atmosphere, which are worth searching for.

Henrik Chrome Gjjard, a chemist at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, says: Press release Posted on the Eureka Alert website; “These compounds are always present, but we do not know anything about them, but the fact that we now have evidence that compounds form and last for a period of time means that we can read their effect and address. If they are found to be harmful.”

Different flavors of oxygen

Often the addition of a new component to the chemistry will fundamentally change the behavior of an object; Water, for example, is formed by the interaction of two hydrogen atoms with one oxygen atom, resulting in a mixture that is essential for life, but when another oxygen atom is added, hydrogen peroxide is available, which can do some harm. Lifestyles.

Hydrotroxide is obtained when we add another oxygen atom to this angry little molecule, which requires the right kind of laboratory equipment, some saturated organic compounds, and dry ice; It’s not so simple, but the chemists used their production skills to produce some “flavors” of molecular oxygen as the first step in producing various products.

Very reactive compound

Since it is highly reactive, the question is whether hydrothorax can easily form stable chemical compounds in the atmosphere. This is not just a vague educational information; The many ways in which our atmosphere works — the complex ways it affects health or the massive scale of global climate change — emerge from the way substances in the atmosphere interact.

“Chemicals are released into the atmosphere by most human activities, so it’s important to know the interactions that determine atmospheric chemistry, if we want to predict how our actions will affect the atmosphere in the future,” says Kristen H. M முller, chemist at the University of Copenhagen.

Possible sources of hydrothorax

The team’s research provides the first direct observations on the formation of hydrothorax under atmospheric conditions from many substances now known to be in the air.

This allowed them to study how the compound would synthesize, how long it would last, and how it decomposes.

This is only a viable source, but based on the group’s calculations, any compound could theoretically play a role in the formation of hydrodroxides, which would be stable for a few minutes to a few hours. At that time, it may participate in a large number of other reactions, such as acting as a strong antioxidant, some of which may become entangled in microscopic solids that move with the air.

Potential health effects

“It is easy to imagine that new substances are formed in aerosols and can be harmful if inhaled, but more research is needed to address these potential health effects,” says Giard. Since aerosols also affect the way our planet reflects sunlight, knowing how its internal chemistry develops or breaks down these compounds will change the way our climate is “modeled”.

Undoubtedly, further research will begin to reveal the role of hydrothorax in the ‘composition’ of our planet’s atmosphere, and, as noted by researcher Jing Chen at the University of Copenhagen, this is just the beginning. “The air around us is a huge complex of complex chemical reactions, and as researchers we need to be open-minded if we want to be better at finding solutions,” Chen says.