A newly discovered chemical that is exceedingly reactive was found in the atmosphere.

 

Each year, the atmosphere has the potential to generate millions of tons of chemical types.

 

According to the findings of a recent study, millions of tons of a class of highly reactive compounds known as hydrotrioxides can remain in the atmosphere for several hours. This finding has potential repercussions for the health of humans and the climate of the entire planet.

 

Because of the speed with which these molecules interact with other substances, chemists will need to reevaluate the processes in the atmosphere to account for the presence of these chemicals.

 

It has been believed for a very long time that hydrotrioxides, which are chemical compounds that consist of one hydrogen atom and three oxygen atoms, are far too unstable to exist for an extended period in the atmosphere.

 

The latest research, on the other hand, demonstrates that hydrotrioxides are a typical byproduct of many different types of common chemical reactions and that they can maintain a level of stability that allows them to react with other molecules found in the environment.

 

According to Henrik Grum Kjaergaard, a chemist at the University of Copenhagen, who spoke with Live Science about the research, "We showed that the lifetime of one of them was at least 20 minutes." That amounts to sufficient time for them to carry out activities in the atmosphere.

 

A new study on the creation of hydrotrioxide in the atmosphere was published online on May 26 in the journal Science by Kjrgaard, also one of the paper's authors.

 

It does not appear that anything novel is taking place in the atmosphere due to this discovery; rather, it seems that hydrotrioxides have always developed there. However, the new research is the very first time that the presence of these highly reactive compounds in the air has been demonstrated and confirmed.

 

Jing Chen, a doctoral student at the University of Copenhagen and the study's second author, said in a statement that "we can now show, through direct observation, that these compounds actually form in the atmosphere, that they are surprisingly stable, and that they are formed from almost all chemical compounds." "We can now show, through direct observation, that these compounds actually form in the atmosphere," Chen said . "There is no longer any room for speculation at this point."

 

There is a subclass of hydrogen polyoxides known as hydrotrioxides. Water is the most basic and prevalent form of hydrogen polyoxide with two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom, also denoted by the chemical formula H2O.

 

Another type of hydrogen polyoxide is known as hydrogen peroxide, denoted by the chemical formula H2O2, and is typically used as a disinfectant or bleach. Because of the additional oxygen atom, many peroxides are highly explosive, which is why they are sometimes included in rocket fuel.

 

Hydrotrioxides contain three oxygen atoms connected, making them considerably more reactive than peroxides. Hydrotrioxides are the next stage up from peroxides. In chemical notation, they are denoted by the symbols ROOOH, where R can represent any bonded group, such as a carbon group.

 

Although it was previously known that chemical reactions in the atmosphere could result in the formation of peroxides, it was not previously known that hydrotrioxides can also form there, albeit for a relatively short period before they decompose into less reactive chemicals. This was discovered by accident.

 

One of the most common chemical reactions, the oxidation of isoprene, which is a substance produced by many plants and animals and is the primary component of natural rubber, is estimated to be responsible for the production of approximately 11 million tons (10 million metric tons) of hydrotrioxides in the atmosphere each year, according to the findings of a recent study conducted by the researchers.

 

The researchers estimate that approximately one percent of the isoprene released into the atmosphere forms hydrotrioxides. They also believe that hydrotrioxides are produced from these reactions in very low concentrations — about ten million hydrotrioxide molecules in a cubic centimeter of the atmosphere, which is only a very faint trace.

 

The lead author of the study, Torsten Berndt, an atmospheric chemist at the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS) in Leipzig, Germany, told Live Science in an email, "We are super-happy that we were able to show that [hydrotrioxides] are there and that they are living long enough to be — most likely — important in the atmosphere."

 

Investigations of the atmosphere

 

Berndt was in charge of the research laboratory experiments that were carried out at TROPOS to determine whether or not hydrotrioxides were produced as a result of chemical reactions that took place in the atmosphere. At the same time, a team from the University of Copenhagen investigated the theoretical aspects of how hydrotrioxides are formed.

 

Mass spectrometry is a method that can determine the molecular weight of chemicals to find out what atoms they are composed of. Berndt and his colleagues utilized this method to detect the highly reactive hydrotrioxides. This method is quite sensitive.

 

The processes that produced the hydrotrioxides took place in a system called TROPOS free-jet flow, which generates a flow of air unimpeded by solid boundaries and is used to make the hydrotrioxides.

 

In addition, the findings of trials conducted in an environmental chamber at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena were incorporated into the study.

 

Berndt stated that the scientists would now investigate how the compounds might affect human health and the environment during the minutes or hours of activity before the compounds decompose. Their research has proven that common chemical reactions in the atmosphere form hydrotrioxides. Berndt said this would be done because the scientists want to know how the compounds might affect human health and the environment before the compounds decompose.

 

He says, "based on what we know about organic chemistry, we may reasonably anticipate that [hydrotrioxides] will function as an oxidant in the atmosphere." [citation needed] It is also plausible that hydotrioxides could have an effect when our lungs take in air that includes them in extremely low quantities; however, "this is all quite theoretical at the moment." [citation needed]

 

Berndt stated that hydrotrioxides could also penetrate atmospheric aerosols, which are very fine solid particles or liquid droplets suspended in the atmosphere and might initiate chemical reactions there. Some examples of atmospheric aerosols include the ash from volcanic eruptions or the soot from large fires. However, he noted that "experimental investigations on that are very tough." "There is a lot to get done."

 

 

 

 Image source : https://pixabay.com/id/photos/astronomi-cerah-rasi-bintang-gelap-1867616/

 Article source : https://www.livescience.com/reactive-chemical-hydrotrioxides-atmospher

 

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