Plasma-Induced Synthesis of Organic Compounds From Graphite and Aqueous Solution

Discharge experiments were performed to explore the synthesis between graphite and aqueous solution. It was found that atomic carbon was transferred from anode into the solution by arc-discharge experiments and various kinds of organic compounds were generated by synthetic reactions from graphite and water or ammonia water. Carboxylic acids and amino acids were identified in the products by GC-MS and HPLC analyses. It is well known that graphite can hardly combine with other substances under common conditions. So the reaction not only provided an interesting attempt for the chemical transformation from graphite to organic compounds but also served as a useful reference for the formation of organic compounds from atomic carbon under primitive earth conditions.