Three body photodissociation of the water molecule and its implications for prebiotic oxygen production

Yao Chang, Yong Yu, Feng An, Zijie Luo, Donghui Quan, Xia Zhang, Xixi Hu (), Qinming Li, Jiayue Yang, Zhichao Chen, Li Che, Weiqing Zhang, Guorong Wu, Daiqian Xie, Michael N. R. Ashfold, Kaijun Yuan () and Xueming Yang ()
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Yao Chang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Yong Yu: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Feng An: Nanjing University
Zijie Luo: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Donghui Quan: Eastern Kentucky University
Xia Zhang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Xixi Hu: Nanjing University
Qinming Li: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Jiayue Yang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Zhichao Chen: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Li Che: Dalian Maritime University
Weiqing Zhang: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Guorong Wu: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Daiqian Xie: Nanjing University
Michael N. R. Ashfold: University of Bristol
Kaijun Yuan: Chinese Academy of Sciences
Xueming Yang: Chinese Academy of Sciences

Nature Communications, 2021, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-6

Abstract: Abstract The provenance of oxygen on the Earth and other planets in the Solar System is a fundamental issue. It has been widely accepted that the only prebiotic pathway to produce oxygen in the Earth’s primitive atmosphere was via vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) photodissociation of CO2 and subsequent two O atom recombination. Here, we provide experimental evidence of three-body dissociation (TBD) of H2O to produce O atoms in both 1D and 3P states upon VUV excitation using a tunable VUV free electron laser. Experimental results show that the TBD is the dominant pathway in the VUV H2O photochemistry at wavelengths between 90 and 107.4 nm. The relative abundance of water in the interstellar space with its exposure to the intense VUV radiation suggests that the TBD of H2O and subsequent O atom recombination should be an important prebiotic O2-production, which may need to be incorporated into interstellar photochemical models.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-22824-7

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