Insoluble organic material of the Orgueil carbonaceous chondrite and the unidentified infrared bands

Abstract

Deuterium abundance measurements and the 13C NMR spectrum of the HF/HCl insoluble residue of the Orgueil carbonaceous chondrite indicate the presence of an extensive component of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) that is of possible interstellar origin or is similar to PAH hypothesized to exist in interstellar space. Infrared spectra have been obtained using an FTIR spectrometer of the acid insoluble residue, the residue after heating in vacuum, and condensate. Bulk acid insoluble residue was pressed into KBr pellets and also heated under high vacuum to sublimate a volatile component onto KBr disks. The remaining non-volatile organic component of the Orgueil meteorite from such evaporations pressed into KBr pellets exhibits a spectral signature similar to that observed in emission from the Orion Nebula and found in Raman spectra of interplanetary dust particles (IDPs). In addition it has an 11.3 microns (885 cm-1) band indicating PAH having single hydrogens per peripheral aromatic ring. We conclude the nonvolatile material is similar to interstellar PAH because the observed 11.3 microns (885 cm-1) unidentified infrared (UIR) emission suggests interstellar PAH have single hydrogens per peripheral aromatic ring. The volatile fraction of the Orgueil shows an aliphatic CH stretch feature and its spectrum in the 2-25 microns range is similar to that of the bulk residue.