Abstract
CONSIDERING the properties of galactic dust clouds in the wavelength region 8–12 µm Wickramasinghe1 concluded that formaldehyde undergoes polymerisation in interstellar space to polyformaldehyde. Applying more stringent constraints for matching infrared spectra of galactic sources over the waveband 2.5–30 µm Hoyle and Wickramasinghe2,3 recently argued for the identification of interstellar polysaccharides—which could be regarded as a further chemical evolution of formaldehyde polymers. A considerable fraction of all interstellar O and C may be locked up as some form of polymerised formaldehyde, making up the main component of interstellar dust. I argue here that molecular tunnelling in condensed formaldehyde is the only viable mechanism for the formation of formaldehyde polymers in interstellar conditions. Such a polymerisation process may be initiated by the action of ionising radiation.
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GOLDANSKII, V. Mechanism for formaldehyde polymer formation in interstellar space. Nature 268, 612–613 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1038/268612a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/268612a0
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