Journal
ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL LETTERS
Volume 673, Issue 2, Pages L225-L228Publisher
IOP PUBLISHING LTD
DOI: 10.1086/528741
Keywords
astrobiology; astrochemistry; methods : laboratory; molecular processes; solar system : formation; stars : pre-main-sequence
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When hydrogen, nitrogen, and CO are exposed to amorphous iron silicate surfaces at temperatures between 500 and 900 K a carbonaceous coating forms via Fischer-Tropsch-type reactions. Under normal circumstances such a coating would impede or stop further reaction. However, we find that this coating is a better catalyst than the amorphous iron silicates that initiate these reactions. Formation of a self-perpetuating catalytic coating on grain surfaces could explain the rich deposits of macromolecular carbon found in primitive meteorites and would imply that protostellar nebulae should be rich in organic material.
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