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Synthesis of prebiotic organics from CO₂ by catalysis with meteoritic and volcanic particles.

ABSTRACT: The emergence of prebiotic organics was a mandatory step toward the origin of life. The significance of the exogenous delivery versus the in-situ synthesis from atmospheric gases is still under debate. We experimentally demonstrate that iron-rich meteoritic and volcanic particles activate and catalyse the fixation of CO₂, yielding the key precursors of life-building blocks. This catalysis is robust and produces selectively aldehydes, alcohols, and hydrocarbons, independent of the redox state of the environment. It is facilitated by common minerals and tolerates a broad range of the early planetary conditions (150-300 °C, ≲ 10-50 bar, wet or dry climate). We find that up to 6 × 10⁸ kg/year of prebiotic organics could have been synthesized by this planetary-scale process from the atmospheric CO₂ on Hadean Earth.

SUBMITTER: Peters S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10212956 | biostudies-literature | 2023 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Synthesis of prebiotic organics from CO2 by catalysis with meteoritic and volcanic particles.

Peters Sophia S Semenov Dmitry A DA Hochleitner Rupert R Trapp Oliver O

Scientific reports 20230525 1

The emergence of prebiotic organics was a mandatory step toward the origin of life. The significance of the exogenous delivery versus the in-situ synthesis from atmospheric gases is still under debate. We experimentally demonstrate that iron-rich meteoritic and volcanic particles activate and catalyse the fixation of CO2, yielding the key precursors of life-building blocks. This catalysis is robust and produces selectively aldehydes, alcohols, and hydrocarbons, independent of the redo ...[more]

PMID: 37231067

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