Measurement of OH* Generation by Pulverized Minerals Using Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy and Implications for the Reactivity of Planetary Regolith.

ABSTRACT: Mineral analogs to silicate phases common to planetary regolith, including olivine; the pyroxenes augite and diopside; the plagioclase feldspars labradorite, bytownite, and albite; the Johnson Space Center-1A lunar regolith simulant; as well as quartz (used as a reference), were subjected to mechanical pulverization by laboratory milling for times ranging from 5 to 45 min. Pulverized minerals were then incubated in an aqueous solution containing the free radical spin trapping compound 5,5-Dimethyl-1-Pyrroline-N-Oxide for times ranging from 5 to 30 min. These slurries were then analyzed by Electron Paramagnetic Resonance spectroscopy to quantify the amount of hydroxyl radical (the neutral charge form of the hydroxide ion, denoted as OH*) formed in solution. We find that all tested materials

SUBMITTER: Hendrix DA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7007094 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature