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“While it is known that micrometeorite impacts play an important role in changing the lunar landscape, it remains unclear how these changes actually occur,” the researchers said in the study. states in a release on its website.
Titanium is an element commonly found on Earth and the Moon. However, it exists only as an oxide in nature. In its main form, titanium dioxide (TiO2), each titanium atom combines with two oxygen atoms to create a stable and energetically favorable structure.
The researchers then examined the glass beads using state-of-the-art transmission electron microscopy techniques and discovered a small impact crater on the surface of one of the beads, the paper said.
Three titanium-bearing minerals were detected at the crater rim: rutile (TiO2), trigonal Ti2O, and triclinic Ti2O. The latter two share the same chemical composition but differ in crystal structure.
Ti2O does not exist naturally on Earth, but was prepared in the laboratory to make photocatalytic thin film materials, the researchers said.
Researchers say such a scenario was predicted 50 years ago by American planetary scientist Bruce Hapke.
Their research was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program, the Strategic Priority Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the National Natural Science Foundation of China.
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