The role of Fischer-Tropsch catalysis in the origin of methane-rich Titan

Fischer-Tropsch catalysis, which converts CO and H₂ into CH₄ on the surface of iron catalyst, has been proposed to produce the CH₄ on Titan during its formation process in a circum-planetary subnebula. However, Fischer-Tropsch reaction rate under the conditions of subnebula have not been measured quantitatively yet. In this study, we conduct laboratory experiments to determine CH₄ formation rate and also conduct theoretical calculation of clathrate formation to clarify the significance of Fischer-Tropsch catalysis in a subnebula. Our experimental result indicates that the range of conditions where Fischer-Tropsch catalysis proceeds efficiently is narrow (T∼500-600 K) in a subnebula because the catalysts are poisoned at temperatures above 600 K under the condition of subnebula (i.e., H₂/CO = 1000). This suggests that an entire subnebula may not become rich in CH₄ but rather that only limited region of a subnebula may enriched in CH₄ (i.e., CH₄-rich band formation). Our experimental result also suggests that both CO and CO₂ are converted into CH₄ within time significantly shorter than the lifetime of the solar nebula at the optimal temperatures around 550 K. The calculation result of clathration shows that CO₂-rich satellitesimals are formed in the catalytically inactive outer region of subnebula. In the catalytically active inner region, CH₄-rich satellitesimals are formed. The resulting CH₄-rich satellitesimals formed in this region play an important role in the origin of CH₄ on Titan. When our experimental data are applied to a high-pressure model for subnebula evolution, it would predict that there should be CO₂ underneath the Iapetus subsurface and no thick CO₂ ice layer on Titan's icy crust. Such surface and subsurface composition, which may be observed by Cassini-Huygens mission, would provide crucial information on the origin of icy satellites.