(July 13, 2015) A
long-standing chemistry puzzle has been solved, with potential implications
ranging from industrial processes to atmospheric chemistry.
Scientists at the University of Arizona have discovered a
mysterious molecule with a structure simple enough to make it into high school
textbooks, yet so elusive that chemists have argued for more than a century
over whether it even exists.
And, like so many important discoveries in science, this one
started out with a neglected flask sitting in a storage fridge, in this case in
the lab of Andrei Sanov, a professor in the UA's Department of Chemistry and
Biochemistry.
Sanov and two of his students report the first definitive
observation and spectroscopic characterization of ethylenedione, or
"OCCO," representing two carbon monoxide molecules chemically bound
together. According to the researchers, the interest in this deceptively
"simple" compound is fueled by many reasons: from its assumed role as
a fleeting intermediate in a flurry of chemical reactions to its alleged
properties as a wonder drug.