Abelsonite is semitransparent and pink-purple, dark greyish purple, pale purplish red, or reddish brown in color.[1][5] The mineral occurs as thin laths or plates or small aggregates up to 1 cm (0.39 in).[1] The mineral is soluble in benzene and acetone and is insoluble in water, dilute hydrochloric acid, and dilute nitric acid.[6]
Abelsonite is a secondary mineral that formed in fractures, vugs, and bedding planes of oil shale.[1][7] The mineral probably formed from diagenesis of chlorophyll, likely chlorophyll a, which was transported as an aqueous solution into a favorable geologic setting. [7][8]
Alternative source are MethanogenArchea, where close compound is used in Cofactor F430 critical for methane production.
In 2003, abelsonite was fully synthesized for the first time.[9]
Structure
Structure of abelsonite
In 1989, abelsonite was the only known geoporphyrin to have a crystalline structure.[7][a] Most geoporphyrins occur as a series of homologues spanning a large range of carbon numbers.[7] The porphyrin which comprises abelsonite is common, but it does not usually occur in isolation from other porphyrins.[10]
The mineral is a deoxophylloerythroetioporphyrin (DPEP), with nickel occupying the center of the porphyrin ring. Most of the mineral consists of a C31 porphyrin with small quantities of a C30 norisomer.[11] The mineral crystallizes in the triclinic crystal system.[1]
History
The mineral was first noted in 1969 in a core sample made by the Western Oil Shale Corporation in Uintah County, Utah.[12] It was described in 1975 in the journal Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs.[13] The mineral was named after Philip H. Abelson (1913–2004), a long-time editor of the journal Science,[7] for his work in organic geochemistry.[14]
^ abcdefghijklAnthony, John W.; Bideaux, Richard A.; Bladh, Kenneth W.; Nichols, Monte C. (eds.). "Abelsonite"(PDF). Handbook of Mineralogy. Chantilly, VA: Mineralogical Society of America.
Hummer, D.R.; Noll, B.C.; Hazen, R.M.; Downs, R.T. (2017). "Crystal structure of abelsonite, the only known crystalline geoporphyrin". American Mineralogist. 102: 1129–1132.
Mason, G. M.; Trudell, L. G.; Branthaver, J. F. (1989). "Review of the stratigraphic distribution and diagenetic history of abelsonite". Organic Geochemistry. 14 (6): 585–594. doi:10.1016/0146-6380(89)90038-7. (subscription required)
Zhang, B.; Lash, T. D. (September 2003). "Total synthesis of the porphyrin mineral abelsonite and related petroporphyrins with five-membered exocyclic rings". Tetrahedron Letters. 44 (39): 7253–7256. doi:10.1016/j.tetlet.2003.08.007. (subscription required)
External links
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