Chemistry and Photochemistry of Pyruvic Acid at the Air–Water Interface
Keaten Kappes, Alexandra M. Deal, Malte Frydenlund Jespersen, Sandra L. Blair, Jean‐François Doussin, Mathieu Cazaunau, Edouard Pangui, Brianna N. Hopper, Matthew S. Johnson, Veronica Vaida
Abstract
O are prominent among the products in addition to a series of higher-molecular-weight oligomers of mixed units of PA and LA. In addition, we see zymonic acid at the surface. Actinic radiation enhances the production of the oligomers and produces additional surface-active molecules known from the established aqueous photochemical mechanisms. The presence and formation of complex organic molecules at the air-water interface from a simple precursor like PA in the natural environment is relevant to contemporary atmospheric science and is important in the context of prebiotic chemistry, where abiotic production of complex molecules is necessary for abiogenesis.