Aqueous interaction between olivine and organic compounds: Implications for spatial distribution of organic compounds in carbonaceous meteorites

Abstract

Carbonaceous meteorite is relatively enriched in volatile materials including water and organic matter, recording the chemical evolution in the primordial solar system. The spatial distribution of organic compounds was distinct in the carbonaceous meteorite depending on their species and homologues. The result may infer aqueous interaction between mineral and organic compounds in the meteorite parent body. In this study, we examined interactions between the organic compounds and olivine, which is one of the major anhydrous silicates in chondritic meteorites, by preparing a column for liquid chromatography packed with olivine and comparing the retention times of four different N-bearing organic compounds. The results of the experiments showed that organic compounds, which tend to present as cations are retained longer, suggesting that the protonated organic compounds interaction more strongly with the oxyanions of silicic acid in olivine. These observations suggest that olivine of the carbonaceous meteorites could affect the interaction between organic matter and water and might have influenced the spatial distribution of organic compounds on the meteorite parent bodies.