Formation of nanophase metallic iron through charge disproportionation of ferrous iron during micrometeoroid impact-induced splash melting
Haiyang Xian
CAS Key Laboratory of Mineralogy and Metallogeny/Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mineral Physics and Materials, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Jianxi Zhu
CAS Key Laboratory of Mineralogy and Metallogeny/Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mineral Physics and Materials, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Correspondence
Jianxi Zhu, CAS Key Laboratory of Mineralogy and Metallogeny/Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mineral Physics and Materials, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China.
Email: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorYiping Yang
CAS Key Laboratory of Mineralogy and Metallogeny/Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mineral Physics and Materials, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
Search for more papers by this authorShan Li
CAS Key Laboratory of Mineralogy and Metallogeny/Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mineral Physics and Materials, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Search for more papers by this authorJiaxin Xi
CAS Key Laboratory of Mineralogy and Metallogeny/Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mineral Physics and Materials, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Search for more papers by this authorXiaoju Lin
CAS Key Laboratory of Mineralogy and Metallogeny/Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mineral Physics and Materials, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
Search for more papers by this authorJieqi Xing
CAS Key Laboratory of Mineralogy and Metallogeny/Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mineral Physics and Materials, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Search for more papers by this authorXiao Wu
CAS Key Laboratory of Mineralogy and Metallogeny/Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mineral Physics and Materials, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
Search for more papers by this authorHongmei Yang
CAS Key Laboratory of Mineralogy and Metallogeny/Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mineral Physics and Materials, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Search for more papers by this authorHongping He
CAS Key Laboratory of Mineralogy and Metallogeny/Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mineral Physics and Materials, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Search for more papers by this authorYi-Gang Xu
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
State Key Laboratory of Isotope Geochemistry, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
Search for more papers by this authorHaiyang Xian
CAS Key Laboratory of Mineralogy and Metallogeny/Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mineral Physics and Materials, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Jianxi Zhu
CAS Key Laboratory of Mineralogy and Metallogeny/Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mineral Physics and Materials, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Correspondence
Jianxi Zhu, CAS Key Laboratory of Mineralogy and Metallogeny/Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mineral Physics and Materials, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China.
Email: [email protected]
Search for more papers by this authorYiping Yang
CAS Key Laboratory of Mineralogy and Metallogeny/Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mineral Physics and Materials, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
Search for more papers by this authorShan Li
CAS Key Laboratory of Mineralogy and Metallogeny/Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mineral Physics and Materials, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Search for more papers by this authorJiaxin Xi
CAS Key Laboratory of Mineralogy and Metallogeny/Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mineral Physics and Materials, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Search for more papers by this authorXiaoju Lin
CAS Key Laboratory of Mineralogy and Metallogeny/Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mineral Physics and Materials, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
Search for more papers by this authorJieqi Xing
CAS Key Laboratory of Mineralogy and Metallogeny/Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mineral Physics and Materials, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Search for more papers by this authorXiao Wu
CAS Key Laboratory of Mineralogy and Metallogeny/Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mineral Physics and Materials, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
Search for more papers by this authorHongmei Yang
CAS Key Laboratory of Mineralogy and Metallogeny/Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mineral Physics and Materials, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Search for more papers by this authorHongping He
CAS Key Laboratory of Mineralogy and Metallogeny/Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Mineral Physics and Materials, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Search for more papers by this authorYi-Gang Xu
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
State Key Laboratory of Isotope Geochemistry, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
Search for more papers by this authorAbstract
Charge disproportionation of ferrous iron has been considered as one of the mechanisms for the formation of metallic iron on the lunar surface. However, the detailed mechanism of the disproportionation reaction on the Moon is yet to be elucidated. We provide direct evidence for the ferrous disproportionation reaction that produces nano phase metallic iron (npFe0) during a rapid cooling process after splash melting from a lunar sample returned by China's Chang'e-5 mission. Space weathering processes have resulted in the formation of three distinct zones at the rim of a pyroxene fragment, as observed through transmission electron microscopy. These zones, made up of splashed melts, newly formed melts from the substrate, and the mineral, are distinguished as I, II, and III. Quantitative analyses of the iron valence state by electron energy loss spectroscopy show that disproportionation reactions occurred in zone II at a low temperature of <570°C during a rapid cooling process. The reaction led to the production of α-structure npFe0 and Fe3+ reserve in the glass phase. The npFe0 produced by the disproportionation reaction has a larger grain size than those formed from solar wind irradiation, implying that micrometeoroid impacts mainly contribute to the darkening of visible and near-infrared reflectance. These findings reveal a novel rim structure by repeated space weathering and a universal formation mechanism of npFe0 during micrometeoroid impacts, suggesting that the disproportionation reaction could be widespread on airless bodies with impact-induced splash processes.
Conflict of Interest Statement
The authors declare no competing interests.
Open Research
Data Availability Statement
Research Data associated with this article can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.20678121.v2.
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