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Irradiated Benzene Ice Provides Clues to Meteoritic Organic ChemistryAromatic hydrocarbons account for a significant portion of the organic matter in carbonaceous chondrite meteorites, as a component of both the low molecular weight, solvent-extractable compounds and the insoluble organic macromolecular material. Previous work has suggested that the aromatic compounds in carbonaceous chondrites may have originated in the radiation-processed icy mantles of interstellar dust grains. Here we report new studies of the organic residue made from benzene irradiated at 19 K by 0.8 MeV protons. Polyphenyls with up to four rings were unambiguously identified in the residue by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Atmospheric pressure photoionization Fourier transform mass spectrometry was used to determine molecular composition, and accurate mass measurements suggested the presence of polyphenyls, partially hydrogenated polyphenyls, and other complex aromatic compounds. The profile of low molecular weight compounds in the residue compared well with extracts from the Murchison and Orgueil meteorites. These results are consistent with the possibility that solid phase radiation chemistry of benzene produced some of the complex aromatics found in meteorites.
Document ID
20140010296
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Callahan, Michael Patrick
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Gerakines, Perry Alexander
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Martin, Mildred G.
(Catholic Univ. of America Washington, DC, United States)
Hudson, Reggie L.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Peeters, Zan
(Carnegie Institution of Washington Washington, DC, United States)
Date Acquired
July 29, 2014
Publication Date
November 1, 2013
Publication Information
Publication: Icarus
Publisher: Elsevier
Volume: 226
Issue: 2
Subject Category
Lunar And Planetary Science And Exploration
Report/Patent Number
GSFC-E-DAA-TN10753
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
Keywords
benzene
radiation chemistry
meteorites
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