¹d’Ischia, M.,²Manini, P.,^3,4Moracci, M.,⁵Saladino, R.,^6,7Ball, V.,⁸Thissen, H.,⁸Evans, R.A.,⁹Puzzarini, C.,¹⁰Barone, V.
International Journal of Molecular Sciences 20 Link to Article [DOI: 10.3390/ijms20174079]
¹Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Naples “Federico II”, Complesso Universitario di Monte S. Angelo ,Via Cupa Nuova Cinthia 21, Naples, 80126, Italy
²Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Naples “Federico II”, Complesso Universitario di Monte S. Angelo ,Via Cupa Nuova Cinthia 21, Naples, 80126, Italy
³Department of Biology, University of Naples “Federico II”, Complesso Universitario di Monte S. Angelo ,Via Cupa Nuova Cinthia 21, Naples, 80126, Italy
⁴Institute of Biosciences and BioResources, National Research Council of Italy, Via P. Castellino 111, Naples, 80131, Italy
⁵Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences, University of Tuscia, Via S. Camillo de Lellis, Viterbo, 01100, Italy
⁶Institut National de la Santé et de la RechercheMédicale, 11 rue Humann, France
⁷Faculté de Chirurgie Dentaire, Université de Strasbourg, 1 Place de l’Hôpital, Strasbourg, 67000, France
⁸Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) Manufacturing, Clayton, VIC 3168, Australia
⁹Department of Chemistry “Giacomo Ciamician”, University of Bologna, Via F. Selmi 2, Bologna, I-40126, Italy
¹⁰Scuola Normale Superiore, Piazza dei Cavalieri 7, Pisa, I-56126, Italy

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¹Christian VOLLMER,²Jan LEITNER,^3,4Demie KEPAPTSOGLOU,^3,5Quentin M. RAMASSE,⁶Henner BUSEMANN,¹Peter HOPPE
Meteoritics and Planetary Science (in Press) Link to Article [https://doi.org/10.1111/maps.13389]
¹Institut für Mineralogie, Westfalische Wilhelms-Universität, Corrensstr. 24, 48149 Münster, Germany
²Particle Chemistry Department, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Hahn-Meitner-Weg 1, 55128 Mainz, Germany
³SuperSTEM Laboratory, Keckwick Lane, Daresbury, UK
⁴Department of Physics, Jeol Nanocentre, University of York, Heslington YO 10 50D, UK
⁵School of Chemical and Process Engineering, Scbool of Physics, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
⁶Institut für Geochemie und Petrologie, ETH Zürich, Clausiusstr. 25, Zürich, Switzerland
Copyright Elsevier

Organic matter (OM) was widespread in the early solar nebula and might have played an important role for the delivery of prebiotic molecules to the early Earth. We investigated the textures, isotopic compositions, and functional chemistries of organic grains in the Renazzo carbonaceous chondrite by combined high spatial resolution techniques (electron microscopy–secondary ion mass spectrometry). Morphologies are complex on a submicrometer scale, and some organics exhibit a distinct texture with alternating layers of OM and minerals. These layered organics are also characterized by heterogeneous 15N isotopic abundances. Functional chemistry investigations of five focused ion beam‐extracted lamellae by electron energy loss spectroscopy reveal a chemical complexity on a nanometer scale. Grains show absorption at the C‐K edge at 285, 286.6, 287, and 288.6 eV due to polyaromatic hydrocarbons, different carbon‐oxygen, and aliphatic bonding environments with varying intensity. The nitrogen K‐edge functional chemistry of three grains is shown to be highly complex, and we see indications of amine (C‐NHx) or amide (CO‐NR2) chemistry as well as possible N‐heterocycles and nitro groups. We also performed low‐loss vibrational spectroscopy with high energy resolution and identified possible D‐ and G‐bands known from Raman spectroscopy and/or absorption from C=C and C‐O stretch modes known from infrared spectroscopy at around 0.17 and 0.2 eV energy loss. The observation of multiglobular layered organic aggregates, heterogeneous 15N‐anomalous compositions, and indication of NHx‐(amine) functional chemistry lends support to recent ideas that 15N‐enriched ammonia (NH3) was a powerful agent to synthesize more complex organics in aqueous asteroidal environments.