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Updated: May 8, 2026

In Situ SIMS and IR Spectroscopy of Well-defined Surfaces Prepared by Soft Landing of Mass-selected Ions
Published on: June 16, 2014
Ammonium-bearing phyllosilicate grains detected in Ryugu and Bennu samples via infrared spectroscopy
T Jiang1,2, D Baklouti3, C Pilorget3,4
1Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Orsay, France. te.jiang@mnhn.fr.
Abstract:
Understanding the nature of nitrogen reservoirs in primitive small bodies is fundamental for tracing the evolution of volatiles in the early Solar System and their contribution to prebiotic chemistry. Here we report the identification, via infrared spectroscopy, of ammonium (NH4+)-bearing phyllosilicates inclusions in samples returned from carbonaceous asteroids Ryugu and Bennu. Typically hundreds of micrometers in size, they exhibit highly similar near-infrared spectral profiles in both collections, pointing to a generic formation process across this class of primitive objects. This process implies a chemical path that likely starts with highly soluble ammonium salts trapped in ices and mixed with anhydrous silicates, as detected on comet 67 P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, and ends with ammoniated phyllosilicates, and a few less soluble ammonium salts such as the Hydrated Ammonium Magnesium Phosphorus-rich grains found in Ryugu and Bennu. These second-generation ammonium-bearing species were thus able to contribute efficiently to the delivery of nitrogen to terrestrial planets.
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