Gas-phase detection of oxirene

Oxirenes-highly strained 4π Hückel antiaromatic organics-have been recognized as key reactive intermediates in the Wolff rearrangement and in interstellar environments. Predicting short lifetimes and tendency toward ring opening, oxirenes are one of the most mysterious classes of organic transients, with the isolation of oxirene (c-C₂H₂O) having remained elusive. Here, we report on the preparation of oxirene in low-temperature methanol-acetaldehyde matrices upon energetic processing through isomerization of ketene (H₂CCO) followed by resonant energy transfer of the internal energy of oxirene to the vibrational modes (hydroxyl stretching and bending, methyl deformation) of methanol. Oxirene was detected upon sublimation in the gas phase exploiting soft photoionization coupled with a reflectron time-of-flight mass spectrometry. These findings advance our fundamental understanding of the chemical bonding and stability of cyclic, strained molecules and afford a versatile strategy for the synthesis of highly ring-strained transients in extreme environments.