Nature, origin, and phosphorylation potential of the phosphorus/sulfur-bearing nanoscale multiphasic assemblages in the CM chondrites Murchison and MurrayOPEN ACCESS 

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Valentine Megevand, Sylvain Bernard, Corentin Le Guillou, Roberto Conconi, François Guyot

MAPS, Version of Record online: 02 August 2026

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“Carbonaceous chondrites contain phosphorus, whose speciation and thus history remain to be investigated. Phosphorus/sulfur-bearing assemblages have been reported in carbonaceous CM chondrites, but there is no consensus about their exact compositions and origins. Here, we present submicrometer-scale investigations by analytical transmission electron microscopy of phosphorus/sulfur-bearing assemblages from the CM chondrites Murray and Murchison. Results indicate that, in CM chondrites, phosphorus associated with sulfides occurs under distinct oxidation states. In Murray, we identified a pyrrhotite–schreibersite nanocrystalline assemblage associated with carlsbergite and chromite. Its reduced nature and petrographic context are indicative of a nebular formation mechanism, possibly through kamacite sulfidation. In contrast, Murchison contains nanocrystalline pentlandite assemblages associated with carlsbergite and likely with phosphate phases that we interpret as being produced via interactions with an oxidizing fluid under asteroidal conditions. Thermodynamic modeling suggests that such complex assemblages hosting reactive forms of both phosphorus and nitrogen could promote the synthesis of activated phosphate species such as diamidophosphate, an efficient phosphorylation reagent, thereby underscoring their potential prebiotic significance.”

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