The oxidation state of nanophase Fe particles in lunar soil: Implications for space weathering

Michelle S. Thompson; Thomas J. Zega; Patricio Becerra; James T. Keane; Shane Byrne

doi:10.1111/maps.12646

The oxidation state of nanophase Fe particles in lunar soil: Implications for space weathering

Michelle S. Thompson, Thomas J. Zega, Patricio Becerra, James T. Keane, Shane Byrne

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

60 Scopus citations

Abstract

We report measurements of the oxidation state of Fe nanoparticles within lunar soils that experienced varied degrees of space weathering. We measured >100 particles from immature, submature, and mature lunar samples using electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) coupled to an aberration-corrected transmission electron microscope. The EELS measurements show that the nanoparticles are composed of a mixture of Fe⁰, Fe²⁺, and Fe³⁺ oxidation states, and exhibit a trend of increasing oxidation state with higher maturity. We hypothesize that the oxidation is driven by the diffusion of O atoms to the surface of the Fe nanoparticles from the oxygen-rich matrix that surrounds them. The oxidation state of Fe in the nanoparticles has an effect on modeled reflectance properties of lunar soil. These results are relevant to remote sensing data for the Moon and to the remote determination of relative soil maturities for various regions of the lunar surface.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	1082-1095
Number of pages	14
Journal	Meteoritics and Planetary Science
Volume	51
Issue number	6
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/maps.12646
State	Published - Jun 1 2016

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Geophysics
Space and Planetary Science

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title = "The oxidation state of nanophase Fe particles in lunar soil: Implications for space weathering",

abstract = "We report measurements of the oxidation state of Fe nanoparticles within lunar soils that experienced varied degrees of space weathering. We measured >100 particles from immature, submature, and mature lunar samples using electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) coupled to an aberration-corrected transmission electron microscope. The EELS measurements show that the nanoparticles are composed of a mixture of Fe0, Fe2+, and Fe3+ oxidation states, and exhibit a trend of increasing oxidation state with higher maturity. We hypothesize that the oxidation is driven by the diffusion of O atoms to the surface of the Fe nanoparticles from the oxygen-rich matrix that surrounds them. The oxidation state of Fe in the nanoparticles has an effect on modeled reflectance properties of lunar soil. These results are relevant to remote sensing data for the Moon and to the remote determination of relative soil maturities for various regions of the lunar surface.",

author = "Thompson, {Michelle S.} and Zega, {Thomas J.} and Patricio Becerra and Keane, {James T.} and Shane Byrne",

note = "Funding Information: We thank CAPTEM for allocation of lunar samples for this study. We gratefully acknowledge the use of facilities within the Leroy Eyring Center for Solid State Science at Arizona State University, with assistance from Dr. Toshihiro Aoki. We thank Lindsay Keller and Larry Taylor for their reviews, and Carle Pieters for editorial guidance, which improved this manuscript. We thank Dante Lauretta for providing helpful advice on the manuscript. We also acknowledge the use of Electron Beam Analysis Labs at the NASA Johnson Space Center. Funding for M.S. Thompson is provided by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship (NESSF). Research supported in part by NASA. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} The Meteoritical Society, 2016.",

year = "2016",

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doi = "10.1111/maps.12646",

language = "English (US)",

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AU - Keane, James T.

AU - Byrne, Shane

N1 - Funding Information: We thank CAPTEM for allocation of lunar samples for this study. We gratefully acknowledge the use of facilities within the Leroy Eyring Center for Solid State Science at Arizona State University, with assistance from Dr. Toshihiro Aoki. We thank Lindsay Keller and Larry Taylor for their reviews, and Carle Pieters for editorial guidance, which improved this manuscript. We thank Dante Lauretta for providing helpful advice on the manuscript. We also acknowledge the use of Electron Beam Analysis Labs at the NASA Johnson Space Center. Funding for M.S. Thompson is provided by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship (NESSF). Research supported in part by NASA. Publisher Copyright: © The Meteoritical Society, 2016.

PY - 2016/6/1

Y1 - 2016/6/1

N2 - We report measurements of the oxidation state of Fe nanoparticles within lunar soils that experienced varied degrees of space weathering. We measured >100 particles from immature, submature, and mature lunar samples using electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) coupled to an aberration-corrected transmission electron microscope. The EELS measurements show that the nanoparticles are composed of a mixture of Fe0, Fe2+, and Fe3+ oxidation states, and exhibit a trend of increasing oxidation state with higher maturity. We hypothesize that the oxidation is driven by the diffusion of O atoms to the surface of the Fe nanoparticles from the oxygen-rich matrix that surrounds them. The oxidation state of Fe in the nanoparticles has an effect on modeled reflectance properties of lunar soil. These results are relevant to remote sensing data for the Moon and to the remote determination of relative soil maturities for various regions of the lunar surface.

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The oxidation state of nanophase Fe particles in lunar soil: Implications for space weathering

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