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Encyclopedia of Astrobiology pp 1–2Cite as

Polyoxymethylene

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Synonyms

Paraformaldehyde; POM

Definition

Polyoxymethylenes (POM) are polymers of formaldehyde. They can exist either in cyclic (trioxane C3O3H6 and tetroxane C4O4H8) or linear form. The latter includes a wide range of chain lengths with formula (HO(CH2O) n H). The low molecular weight polymers (typically ranging from 10 to 100 monomers units) are commonly known as paraformaldehyde and are readily thermally degraded into pure formaldehyde. They are used in chemistry as a source of pure H2CO. High molecular weight polymers (a few hundreds to a few thousands monomer units) are extensively used in the plastics industry for their remarkable mechanical properties. POM could have had a key role in prebiotic chemistry as a source of concentrated formaldehyde for the formose reaction.

Overview

The presence of polyoxymethylene in comets has often been proposed to interpret various puzzling observations in their comae, although it has not been directly detected yet. The presence of...

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References and Further Reading

  • Cottin H, Bénilan Y, Gazeau M-C, Raulin F (2004) Origin of cometary extended sources from degradation of refractory organics on grains: polyoxymethylene as formaldehyde parent molecule. Icarus 167:397–416

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  • Fray N, Bénilan Y, Biver N, Bockelée-Morvan D, Cottin H, Crovisier J, Gazeau M-C (2006) Heliocentric evolution of the degradation of polyoxylmethylene. Application to the origin of the formaldehyde (H2CO) extended source in comet C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp). Icarus 184:239–254

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  • Huebner WF (1987) First polymer in space identified in comet Halley. Science 237:628–630

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  • Schutte WA, Allamandola LJ, Sandford SA (1993) An experimental study of the organic molecules produced in cometary and interstellar ice analogs by thermal formaldehyde reactions. Icarus 104:118–137

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  • Walker JF (1964) Formaldehyde. Reinhold, New York

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire Interuniversitaire des Systèmes Atmosphériques, Université Paris Est-Créteil, 61, av. du Général de Gaulle, Créteil Cedex, 94010, France

    Hervé Cottin

Authors
  1. Hervé Cottin
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Correspondence to Hervé Cottin .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Biología Molecular, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Ricardo Amils

  2. Labo. d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux (LAB), Observatoire Aquitain des Sciences de l'Univers (OASU), Floirac CX, France

    Muriel Gargaud

  3. Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), Inst. Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain

    José Cernicharo Quintanilla

  4. Geophysical Lab., Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

    Henderson James Cleaves

  5. Astronomy Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA

    William M. Irvine

  6. Dépt. Sc. de la Terre et de l’Atmosphère, Université du Québec, Montréal, Montreal, Québec, Canada

    Daniele Pinti

  7. Centre National d'Etudes Spatiale (CNES) DPI/E2U, Paris CX, France

    Michel Viso

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Cottin, H. (2014). Polyoxymethylene. In: Amils, R., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1255-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1255-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27833-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Physics and AstronomyReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Chemistry, Materials and Physics

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Polyoxymethylene
    Published:
    06 December 2022

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1255-3

  2. Original

    Polyoxymethylene
    Published:
    07 May 2015

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1255-2

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