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  5. Insoluble macromolecular organic matter in the Winchcombe meteorite
 
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Insoluble macromolecular organic matter in the Winchcombe meteorite
File(s)
Meteorit Planetary Scien - 2023 - Sephton - Insoluble macromolecular organic matter in the Winchcombe meteorite.pdf (1.79 MB)
Published version
Author(s)
Sephton, Mark
Chan, Queenie
Watson, Jonathan
Burchell, Mark
Spathis, Vassilia
more
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
The Winchcombe meteorite fell on 28th February 2021 in Gloucestershire, UK. As the most accurately recorded carbonaceous chondrite fall, the Winchcombe meteorite is an opportunity to link a tangible sample of known chemical constitution to a specific region of the solar system whose chemistry can only be otherwise predicted or observed remotely. Winchcombe is a CM carbonaceous chondrite, a group known for their rich and varied abiotic organic chemistry. The rapid collection of Winchcombe provides an opportunity to study a relatively terrestrial contaminant-limited meteoritic organic assemblage. The majority of the organic matter in CM chondrites is macromolecular in nature and we have performed non-destructive and destructive analyses of Winchcombe by Raman spectroscopy, online pyrolysis-gas chromatography (pyrolysis-GC-MS), and stepped combustion. The Winchcombe pyrolysis products were consistent with a CM chondrite, namely aromatic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, sulfur-containing units including thiophenes, oxygen containing units such as phenols and furans, and nitrogen-containing units such as pyridine; many substituted/alkylated forms of these units were also present. The presence of phenols in the online pyrolysis products indicated only limited influence from aqueous alteration, which can deplete the phenol precursors in the macromolecule when aqueous alteration is extensive. Raman spectroscopy and stepped combustion also generated responses consistent with a CM chondrite. The pyrolysis-GC-MS data is likely to reflect the more labile and thermally sensitive portions of the macromolecular materials while the Raman and stepped combustion data will also reflect the more refractory and non-pyrolyzable component, hence we accessed the complete macromolecular fraction of the recently fallen Winchcombe meteorite and revealed a chemical constitution that is similar to other meteorites of the CM group.
Date Issued
2024-09-12
Date Acceptance
2023-01-02
Citation
Meteoritics and Planetary Science, 2024, 59 (5), pp.1131-1144
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/102664
URL
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/maps.13952
DOI
https://www.dx.doi.org/10.1111/MAPS.13952
ISSN
1086-9379
Publisher
Wiley
Start Page
1131
End Page
1144
Journal / Book Title
Meteoritics and Planetary Science
Volume
59
Issue
5
Copyright Statement
© 2023 The Authors. Meteoritics & Planetary Science published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of The Meteoritical Society.

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
License URL
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Identifier
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/maps.13952
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2023-01-02
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