{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,12]],"date-time":"2025-10-12T02:36:55Z","timestamp":1760236615283,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":45,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"23","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,6]],"date-time":"2021-12-06T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1638748800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100000038","name":"Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["RGPIN-2016-04204"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["RGPIN-2016-04204"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100000038","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Molecules"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Very simple chemistry can result in the rapid and high-yield production of key prebiotic inorganic molecules. The two reactions investigated here involve such simple systems, (a) carbon disulfide (CS2) and acetate (CH3COO\u00af) and (b) sulfur dioxide (SO2) and formate (HCOO\u00af). They have been carried out under non-aqueous conditions, either in an organic solvent or with a powdered salt exposed to the requisite gas. Under such dry conditions the first reaction generated the thioacetate anion [CH3COS]\u00af while the second produced the radical [SO2\u00b7]\u00afanion. Anhydrous conditions are not rare and may have arisen on the early earth at sites where an interface between different phases (liquid\/gas or solid\/gas) could be generated. This is one way to rationalize the formation of molecules and ions (such as we have produced) necessary in the prebiotic world. Interpretation of our results provides insight into scenarios consistent with the more prominent theories of abiogenesis.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/molecules26237394","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,6]],"date-time":"2021-12-06T22:18:42Z","timestamp":1638829122000},"page":"7394","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Simple Ion\u2013Gas Mixtures as a Source of Key Molecules Relevant to Prebiotic Chemistry"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"26","author":[{"given":"Samuel","family":"Paula","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemistry, Saint Mary\u2019s University, Halifax, NS B3H 3C3, Canada"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Liam S.","family":"Goulding","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemistry, Saint Mary\u2019s University, Halifax, NS B3H 3C3, Canada"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5602-8059","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Katherine N.","family":"Robertson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemistry, Saint Mary\u2019s University, Halifax, NS B3H 3C3, Canada"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jason A. C.","family":"Clyburne","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemistry, Saint Mary\u2019s University, Halifax, NS B3H 3C3, Canada"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,6]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Smith, E., and Morowitz, H.J. (2016). The Origin and Nature of Life on Earth: The Emergence of the Fourth Geosphere, Cambridge University Press.","DOI":"10.1017\/CBO9781316348772"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"20120254","DOI":"10.1098\/rstb.2012.0254","article-title":"The Inevitable Journey to Being","volume":"368","author":"Russell","year":"2013","journal-title":"Philos. Trans. R. Soc. 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