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Quantification of monocarboxylic acids from a spark discharge synthesis

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Summary

A suite of sixteen monocarboxylic acids having carbon numbers 2 to 7, formed by the Miller-Urey spark discharge process, were identified and quantified by gas chromatography and mass fragmentography using a deuterium spiking technique. The molar concentration and isomeric distribution of these laboratory synthesized monocarboxylic acids are compared to those previously reported for the Murchison meteorite. They show similar trends, namely, decreasing molar concentration with increasing molecular weight, and, the ratio of normal/branched isomers tend toward smaller with increasing carbon numbers.

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Author notes

  1. Edward H. Edelson

    Present address: Department of Chemistry, University of Southern California, 90007, Los Angeles, California, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Arizona State University, 85281, Tempe, Arizona, USA

    George U. Yuen & James G. Lawless

  2. NASA Ames Research Center, 94035, Moffett Field, California, USA

    Edward H. Edelson

Authors
  1. George U. Yuen
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  2. James G. Lawless
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  3. Edward H. Edelson
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Yuen, G.U., Lawless, J.G. & Edelson, E.H. Quantification of monocarboxylic acids from a spark discharge synthesis. J Mol Evol 17, 43–47 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01792423

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01792423

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