A Self-Perpetuating Catalyst for the Production of Complex Organic Molecules in Protostellar Nebulae

When hydrogen, nitrogen, and CO are exposed to amorphous iron silicate surfaces at temperatures between 500 and 900 K a carbonaceous coating forms via Fischer-Tropsch-type reactions. Under normal circumstances such a coating would impede or stop further reaction. However, we find that this coating is a better catalyst than the amorphous iron silicates that initiate these reactions. Formation of a self-perpetuating catalytic coating on grain surfaces could explain the rich deposits of macromolecular carbon found in primitive meteorites and would imply that protostellar nebulae should be rich in organic material.