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Updated: Jun 26, 2025

Experimental Study of the Relationship Between Particle Size and Methane Sorption Capacity in Shale
Published on: August 2, 2018
Reaction of size-selected iron-oxide cluster cations with methane: a model study of rapid methane loss in Mars'
Masashi Arakawa1, Satoshi Kono1, Yasuhito Sekine2
1Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Kyushu University, 744 Motooka, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan. arakawa@chem.kyushu-univ.jp.
Abstract:
We report gas-phase reactions of free iron-oxide clusters, FeO+, and their Ar adducts with methane in the context of chemical processes in Mars' atmosphere. Methane activation was observed to produce FeOCH2+/FeOCD2+ and FeOC+, where the reactivity exhibited size and composition dependence. For example, the rate coefficients of methane activation for Fe3O+ and Fe4O+ were estimated to be 1 × 10-13 and 3 × 10-13 cm3 s-1, respectively. Based on these reaction rate coefficients, the presence of iron-oxide clusters/particles with a density as low as 107 cm-3 in Mars' atmosphere would explain the rapid loss of methane observed recently by the Curiosity rover.
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