University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa researchers in the Department of Chemistry have created a molecule once thought too unstable to exist called methanetetrol using extreme, space-like conditions. The discovery could reshape our understanding of chemistry in the universe and shed light on the complex reactions happening in deep space.
Methanetetrol is the only alcohol which has four hydroxyl groups (OH) at a single carbon atom. Scientists have theorized its existence for more than a century, but no one had ever observed it, until now. Using ultra-cold temperatures, near-perfect vacuum and high-energy radiation to simulate the environment inside interstellar clouds, researchers produced this elusive molecule.
Complex compounds, building blocks of life
This finding shows that outer space may host a far more diverse and unexpected set of chemical reactions than previously believed. These reactions are critical to understanding the formation of organic molecules (building blocks of life) across the galaxy. By proving that methanetetrol can form under cosmic conditions, the team has revealed a surprising pathway for how complex compounds might evolve in the icy dust clouds where stars and planets form.
The team used powerful vacuum ultraviolet light to detect tiny amounts of methanetetrol made from water and carbon dioxide. They found that high-energy particles mimicking high energy cosmic rays triggered a series of chemical reactions leading to the creation of methanetetrol and related compounds.
"In collaborations with scientists from Mississippi, Samara University and Shanghai, this work pushes the boundaries of what we know about chemistry in space," said Department of Chemistry Professor Ralf I. Kaiser.
While this alcohol does not occur naturally on Earth due to its instability in everyday conditions, its formation in space demonstrates that the universe is far more chemically dynamic than previously imagined. The findings push the boundaries of both chemistry and astronomy, and open the door to further discoveries and astronomical observations about how life's ingredients can emerge in the coldest, darkest corners of space.
The study was published in July 2025 in Nature Communications . The Department of Chemistry is housed in UH Mānoa's College of Natural Sciences .
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