Two-step laser mass spectrometric investigations of terrestrial and extraterrestrial samples
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- The studies detailed in this thesis center around the application of laser mass spectrometry to a variety of terrestrial and extraterrestrial samples and their polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) contents. Though PAHs are ubiquitous in space, on Earth and, indeed, in our everyday lives, determination of characteristic PAH signatures in samples of interest can provide important clues to the mechanisms of asteroid interactions, answer questions about experimental contamination, and even help to decipher the riddles of extraterrestrial life. Specifically, this thesis describes the use of two-step laser desorption laser ionization mass spectrometry (L2MS) to: (i) determine that photochemical reactions are not a source of contaminating aromatics in NASA's Stardust mission; (ii) confirm that meteorites collected in the area of a witnessed near-Earth object (NEO) impact were indeed part of the parent asteroid; (iii) contribute to the on-going question of biotic or abiotic formation of carbonate/magnetite globules in mineralogical formations; and (iv) show that L2MS is a promising alternative to laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (LDI-MS) for analytes prone to gas-phase aggregation.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Form | electronic; electronic resource; remote |
| Extent | 1 online resource. |
| Publication date | 2012 |
| Issuance | monographic |
| Language | English |
Creators/Contributors
| Associated with | Morrow, Amy Louise |
|---|---|
| Associated with | Stanford University, Department of Chemistry |
| Primary advisor | Zare, Richard N |
| Thesis advisor | Zare, Richard N |
| Thesis advisor | Andersen, Hans, 1941- |
| Thesis advisor | Boxer, Steven G. (Steven George), 1947- |
| Advisor | Andersen, Hans, 1941- |
| Advisor | Boxer, Steven G. (Steven George), 1947- |
Subjects
| Genre | Theses |
|---|
Bibliographic information
| Statement of responsibility | Amy Louise Morrow. |
|---|---|
| Note | Submitted to the Department of Chemistry. |
| Thesis | Ph.D. Stanford University 2012 |
| Location | electronic resource |
Access conditions
- Copyright
- © 2012 by Amy Louise Morrow
- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial 3.0 Unported license (CC BY-NC).
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