Cosmic dust particles could play a fundamental role in forming the chemical building blocks of life, according to new research. Scientists at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, working with colleagues from Friedrich Schiller University Jena in Germany and the University of Virginia in the United States, have found that mineral dust can act as a catalyst, enabling simple molecules to combine into more complex, potentially life-forming compounds. Crucially, this process appears to occur even in the vacuum and extreme cold of space.
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The study, published in The Astrophysical Journal, shows that surface reactions between common interstellar molecules such as carbon dioxide and ammonia are significantly more efficient when dust is present. These reactions produce ammonium carbamate, a chemical believed to be a precursor to urea and other molecules associated with early biological processes.
Professor Martin McCoustra, an astrochemist at Heriot-Watt University, said: “Dust isn’t merely a passive backdrop in space. It offers surfaces where molecules come together, interact and form more complex species. In certain regions of the cosmos, this dust chemistry is essential for generating life’s molecular foundations. We now understand that surface reactions happen more readily – and far more efficiently – when dust is involved.”
In laboratory experiments led by Dr Alexey Potapov in Jena, researchers recreated cosmic dust using porous silicate grains produced through laser evaporation. Thin layers of carbon dioxide and ammonia were deposited on either side of the dust particles to simulate realistic space conditions.
When these samples were cooled to –260°C, mimicking temperatures inside interstellar clouds, and then gently warmed to around –190°C, similar to conditions as such clouds evolve into protoplanetary discs, the molecules were able to move through the dust layer and react to form ammonium carbamate.
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Experiments without the dust layer resulted in far weaker reactions, confirming the dust’s catalytic role. The team identified this process as acid–base catalysis involving proton transfer – marking the first time such chemistry has been demonstrated under simulated cosmic conditions.
Dr Potapov explained: “Our findings indicate that dust grains may play a far more active part in astrochemistry than previously assumed. As they drift through interstellar clouds and protoplanetary discs, these particles may offer tiny environments where molecules encounter one another and develop into more complex forms.”
Professor McCoustra added: “We’ve shown that dust can drive the chemistry required to create more intricate organic molecules, even at extraordinarily low temperatures. This might be how nature overcomes the harshness of space to initiate the chemistry that ultimately leads to life.”
The team now plans to investigate whether other essential molecules can form in the same manner, and whether this dust-driven chemistry is currently taking place in protoplanetary discs where new planets are emerging.
