Resource molecule
In captured form and often with bonds broken open they are called moieties.
Potential feedstock materials for gem-gum factories.
Insteal of a macroscopic volume of liquid cartridges could contain them micropackaged into microcapsules.
This would change their risk profile regarding the expectable likelihood of and expectable damage level causes by eventual spills.
Microcapsules would also be a natural way to transport these resources via a global microcomponent redistribution system that is primarily meant for the recycing of microcomponents.
Contents
- 1 Special cases
- 2 Volatile elements right from the air
- 3 Mundane nontoxic salts
- 4 More toxic salts
- 5 Other mundane small molecules that could serve as resource carrieres
- 6 Basic resource molecules (older notes too integrate above)
- 7 Potential resource molecules grouped by the element they supply
- 8 Notes
Special cases
- Acetylene – of particular interest due to it's low hydrogen content.
- Methane – a bit much hydrogen. This will mostly be burned to water.
- Ethanol – big molecule – lots of disassembly needed.
- Carbon Disulfide CS2 – not environment friendly – water free solvent
Volatile elements right from the air
- Carbon dioxide CO2 – as a source for carbon (energy devoid)
- Nitrogen N2 – (energy devoid)
- Oxygen O2
- Water H2O – as source for hydrogen (energy devoid)
- Argon – not really a building material but super abundant useful for stabilizing structures by pressurization.
Mundane nontoxic salts
- Salts of silicic acid – silicates don't like to be in solution - only with sodium or potassium this works halfway decent (sodium and potassium salts don't like to be unsoluble)
- Salts of phosphoric acid – phosporic acid is quite mundane (is uses in food) – many other phosphor compounds can be quite toxic
- Salts of sulphuric acid – mundane
- Table Salt NaCl
The alkali elements in there (Na,K) that are just added to keep the solution PH neutral (not acidic) are less useful for structural materials. They do not like to form strong directed covalent bonds as they are needed in strong structural high performance materials. So they may remain largely unused. Remnant lye (NaOH, KOH) can be neutralized with actively collected atmospheric CO2.
More toxic salts
- Salts of boric acid
- Sodium aluminates – There is no aluminic acid – just as slilicon aluminium also hates to go into solution
Other mundane small molecules that could serve as resource carrieres
- Urea – highly inert and nontoxic nitrogen carrier
- Dimethyl sulfide – sulfur carrier – strong smell (smell of the sea in low doses)
Basic resource molecules (older notes too integrate above)
For mechanosynthesis of diamond ethyne C2H2 methane CH4 and traces of digermane Ge2H6 can be used. This has been toroughly analyzed.
Further molecules of prime interest are carbon dioxide CO2 water H2O and nitrogen gas N2. The capability of handling those allows for tapping the air as a resource for products that (almost) exclusively contain diamondoid molecular elements out of hydrogen carbon oxygen and nitrogen (HCON).
From the metals Aluminum and Titanium would be of interest.
Potential resource molecules grouped by the element they supply
They should preferentially be non or at least low toxic and easy to handle.
- for boron: B2H6 diborane is toxic and reacts with water to
B(OH)3 boric acid which is pretty harmless and thus a better resource - for fluorine: SF6 sulfur hexafluoride very heavy pretty inert gas, soluble in ethanol
the sulfur can be used or disposed as diluted sulfuric acid - for aluminum: ?
- for silicon: silicic acid self polymerizes and is thus not suitable
SiH4 [1] seems better but it's quite toxic, higher silans tend to be explosive - for chlorine: ammonium chloride (salmiak) - or diluted hydrochloric acid - dissolved table salt NaCl if theres use for sodium
Sources for phosphorus
- for phosphorus: PH3 phosphine seems too toxic
H3O4P phosphoric acid seems good - ammonium phosphate compounds - (wikipedia)
Sources for sulfur
Good information resource for sulfur compounds: wikipedia
of main interest
- ammonium sulfate (NH4)2SO4 (wikipedia) - pro: waste nitrogen can go to atmosphere, massively available - con: explosive in dry form
- methylsulfonylmethane C2H6O2S- (wikipedia) - pro: non toxic - con: carries carbon too
- sulfuric acid H2SO4 (wikipedia) - pro: massively available - con: acidity
maybe interesting
- diallyl trisulfide C6H10S3 (wikipedia) - main component of garlic oil - con: carries lots of carbon and hydrogen
- syn-Propanethial-S-oxide C3H6OS (wikipedia) - irritant expelled by cut onions
- dimethyl trisulfide C2H6S3 (wikipedia)
- carbon disulfide CS2 (wikipedia) - soluble in ethanol - pro: massively available - con: toxic
- carbonyl sulfide (wikipedia) - con: toxic, carries less sulfur than carbon disulfide
- hydrogen sulfide H2S, sulfur dioxide SO2, sulfur trioxide SO3 - all too dangerous and toxic
- thioacetic acid C2H4OS (wikipedia)
- methanesulfonic acid CH3SO3H (wikipedia), (wikipedia)
Notes
If the non metal element in question is poisonous or unstable with the bonds just capped with hydrogen the oxygen acids of the element may be a better choice. To reduce acidity but not introduce metal cations that would in many cases remain as waste the ammonium cation (wikipedia) can be used.
Silicon is troublesome since most of its compound tend to polymerize instead of staying as separate molecules.
