RT journal article
T1 Nanoscale Anatomy of Iron-Silica Self-Organized Membranes: Implications for Prebiotic Chemistry
A1 Kotopoulou, Electra
A1 López Haro, Miguel
A1 Calvino Gámez, José Juan
A1 Garcia Ruiz, Juan Manuel
A2 Ciencia de los Materiales e Ingeniería Metalúrgica y Química Inorgánica
K1 heterogeneous catalysis
K1 iron
K1 membranes
K1 nanoparticles
K1 prebiotic chemistry
AB Iron-silica self-organized membranes, so-called chemical gardens, behave as fuel cells and catalyze the formation of amino/carboxylic acids and RNA nucleobases from organics that were available on early Earth. Despite their relevance for prebiotic chemistry, little is known about their structure and mineralogy at the nanoscale. Studied here are focused ion beam milled sections of iron-silica membranes, grown from synthetic and natural, alkaline, serpentinization-derived fluids thought to be widespread on early Earth. Electron microscopy shows they comprise amorphous silica and iron nanoparticles of large surface areas and inter/intraparticle porosities. Their construction resembles that of a heterogeneous catalyst, but they can also exhibit a bilayer structure. Surface-area measurements suggest that membranes grown from natural waters have even higher catalytic potential. Considering their geochemically plausible precipitation in the early hydrothermal systems where abiotic organics were produced, iron-silica membranes might have assisted the generation and organization of the first biologically relevant organics.
PB WILEY
SN 1433-7851
YR 2020
FD 2020-11
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10498/24108
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10498/24108
LA eng
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Cádiz
RD 15-nov-2026