Origin of organic matter in the early solar system—VII. The organic polymer in carbonaceous chondrites

Hayatsu, Ryoichi; Matsuoka, Sumiko; Scott, Robert G.; Studier, Martin H.; Anders, Edward

doi:10.1016/0016-7037(77)90076-x

Cited by 194 publications

(158 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…Kerogen is the most abundant organic substance in meteorites. As with terrestrial kerogen, the kerogen from the Murchison meteorite gives benzenecarboxylic acid products when oxidized (33,34). These are stable in refluxing nitric acid for 27 h.…”

Section: Geologymentioning

confidence: 99%

The missing organic molecules on Mars

Benner

Devine

Matveeva

et al. 2000

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

378

350

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GC-MS on the Viking 1976Mars missions did not detect organic molecules on the Martian surface, even those expected from meteorite bombardment. This result suggested that the Martian regolith might hold a potent oxidant that converts all organic molecules to carbon dioxide rapidly relative to the rate at which they arrive. This conclusion is influencing the design of Mars missions. We reexamine this conclusion in light of what is known about the oxidation of organic compounds generally and the nature of organics likely to come to Mars via meteorite. We conclude that nonvolatile salts of benzenecarboxylic acids, and perhaps oxalic and acetic acid, should be metastable intermediates of meteoritic organics under oxidizing conditions. Salts of these organic acids would have been largely invisible to GC-MS. Experiments show that one of these, benzenehexacarboxylic acid (mellitic acid), is generated by oxidation of organic matter known to come to Mars, is rather stable to further oxidation, and would not have been easily detected by the Viking experiments. Approximately 2 kg of meteorite-derived mellitic acid may have been generated per m 2 of Martian surface over 3 billion years. How much remains depends on decomposition rates under Martian conditions. As available data do not require that the surface of Mars be very strongly oxidizing, some organic molecules might be found near the surface of Mars, perhaps in amounts sufficient to be a resource. Missions should seek these and recognize that these complicate the search for organics from entirely hypothetical Martian life.Viking ͉ organic compounds ͉ exobiology ͉ astrobiology

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Section: Geologymentioning

confidence: 99%

The missing organic molecules on Mars

Benner

Devine

Matveeva

et al. 2000

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

378

350

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“…These studies suggest that the majority of chondritic organic material is present as one to four aromatic ring species, with one-ring components dominating (Sephton & Gilmour 2001b). Aliphatic groups are present (at times in significant amounts) within the macromolecular aromatic network and appear to exist within or around the network as hydroaromatic rings and short alkyl substituents or bridging groups (Levy et al 1973;Hayatsu et al 1977;Holzer & Oro´1977 ;Sephton & Gilmour 2001b).…”

Section: Pyrolytic Degradationmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…75 wt%) consisting of a high molecular weight heterogeneous aromatic network, commonly referred to as insoluble macromolecular material (Bandurski & Nagy 1976;Hayatsu et al 1977). The difficulty in analysing such complex macromolecular materials has led to a number of analytical approaches : non-destructive processes such as infra-red spectroscopy (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The difficulty in analysing such complex macromolecular materials has led to a number of analytical approaches : non-destructive processes such as infra-red spectroscopy (e.g. Hayatsu et al 1977) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy Gardinier et al 2000;Cody et al 2002) and destructive techniques such as chemical degradation (Hayatsu et al 1980) and pyrolysis (Simmonds et al 1969 ;Studier et al 1972;Levy et al 1973;Bandurski & Nagy 1976;Holzer & Oro´1977;Murae 1995;Sephton et al 1999;Sephton & Gilmour 2001b;Sephton et al 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Molecular, isotopic and in situ analytical approaches to the study of meteoritic organic material

Watson

Pearson

Sephton

et al. 2004

International Journal of Astrobiology

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: Organic materials isolated from carbonaceous meteorites provide us with a record of pre-biotic chemistry in the early Solar System. Molecular, isotopic and in situ studies of these materials suggest that a number of extraterrestrial environments have contributed to the inventory of organic matter in the early Solar System including interstellar space, the Solar nebula and meteorite parent bodies.There are several difficulties that have to be overcome in the study of the organic constituents of meteorites. Contamination by terrestrial biogenic organic matter is an ever-present concern and a wide variety of contaminant molecules have been isolated and identified including essential plant oils, derived from either biological sources or common cleaning products, and aliphatic hydrocarbons, most probably derived from petroleum-derived pollutants. Only 25 % of the organic matter in carbonaceous chondrites is amenable to extraction with organic solvents ; the remainder is present as a complex macromolecular aromatic network that has required the development of analytical approaches that can yield structural and isotopic information on this highly complex material.Stable isotopic studies have been of paramount importance in understanding the origins of meteoritic organic matter and have provided evidence for the incorporation of interstellar molecules within meteoritic material. Extending isotopic studies to the molecular level is yielding new insights into both the sources of meteoritic organic matter and the processes that have modified it.Organic matter in meteorites is intimately associated with silicate minerals and the in situ examination of the relationships between organic and inorganic components is crucial to our understanding of the role of asteroidal processes in the modification of organic matter and, in particular, the role of water as both a solvent and a reactant on meteorite parent bodies.

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“…Wdowiac et al 1988;Cruikshank et al1988;Hayatsu et al 1977). Meteorites contain many complex organic compounds, including insoluble polymers that are difficult to characterize, but that consist partly of cross-linked aromatic chains (Anders et al 1973;Hayatsu et al 1977).…”

Section: Comparisons With Carbonaceous Solidsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbonaceous Compounds in Comets: Infrared Observations

Encrenaz

Knacke

1989

International Astronomical Union Colloquium

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ABSTRACT. The Comet Halley observations showed that carbon is a major component of the comet nucleus, with mass spectroscopic data giving near-cosmic C / 0 ratios. Gaseous and solid compounds were also observed with infrared spectroscopy, which gave detections of CO and CO2, probable detections or upper limits of H2CO and CH4, and a tentative detection of OCS. The CH4/CO ratio of less than unity in Comet Halley points to a CO-rich solar nebula; however, the ratio is higher than in interstellar clouds. A broad, complicated emission feature near 3.4 /mi is evidence for carbonaceous compounds containing C-H groups in gas or solid phases. Analysis of radiation mechanisms and abundance constraints suggests that thermal emission or transient heating by single photons can account for the 3.4-/fm emission feature. The band resembles (but is not identical to) bands of carbonaceous chondrite organic material, synthetic materials, and interstellar carbonaceous bands. Direct connections among these materials are possible, but have not been established.

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Origin of organic matter in the early solar system—VII. The organic polymer in carbonaceous chondrites

Cited by 194 publications

References 46 publications

The missing organic molecules on Mars

The missing organic molecules on Mars

Molecular, isotopic and in situ analytical approaches to the study of meteoritic organic material

Carbonaceous Compounds in Comets: Infrared Observations

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