Hydrogen cyanide (HCN)-derived polymers have been recognized as sources of relevant organic molecules in prebiotic chemistry and material sciences. However, there are considerable gaps in the knowledge regarding the polymeric nature, the physicochemical properties, and the chemical pathways along polymer synthesis. HCN might have played an important role in prebiotic hydrothermal environments; however, only few experiments use cyanide species considering hydrothermal conditions. In this work, we synthesized an HCN-derived thermal polymer simulating an alkaline hydrothermal environment (i.e., HCN (l) 0.15 M, 50 h, 100 °C, pH approximately 10) and characterized its chemical structure, thermal behavior, and the hydrolysis effect. Elemental analysis and infrared spectroscopy suggest an important oxidation degree. The thermal behavior indicates that the polymer is more stable compared to other HCN-derived polymers. The mass spectrometric thermal analysis showed the gradual release of several volatile compounds along different thermal steps. The results suggest a complicate macrostructure formed by amide and hydroxyl groups, which are joined to the main reticular chain with conjugated bonds (C=O, N=O, –O–C=N). The hydrolysis treatment showed the pH conditions for the releasing of organics. The study of the synthesis of HCN-derived thermal polymers under feasible primitive hydrothermal conditions is relevant for considering hydrothermal vents as niches of chemical evolution on early Earth.

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HCN衍生的热聚合物的表征：对化学演化的启示

氰化氢（HCN）衍生的聚合物已被认为是益生元化学和材料科学中相关有机分子的来源。但是，关于聚合物的性质，物理化学性质以及沿着聚合物合成的化学途径的知识存在很大差距。HCN在益生元热液环境中可能发挥了重要作用；但是，考虑到水热条件，只有很少的实验使用氰化物。在这项工作中，我们合成了模拟碱性水热环境的HCN衍生的热聚合物（即HCN（l0.15 M，50 h，100°C，pH约10）并表征其化学结构，热行为和水解效果。元素分析和红外光谱表明重要的氧化度。热行为表明该聚合物与其他HCN衍生的聚合物相比更稳定。质谱热分析表明，沿着不同的加热步骤逐渐释放出几种挥发性化合物。结果表明，由酰胺和羟基形成的复杂宏观结构通过结合键（C = O，N = O，–OC–C = N）与网状主链连接。水解处理显示出用于释放有机物的pH条件。