Prebiotic synthesis of mineral-bearing microdroplet from inorganic carbon photoreduction at air-water interface.

ABSTRACT: The origin of life on Earth is an enigmatic and intricate conundrum that has yet to be comprehensively resolved despite recent significant developments within the discipline of archaeology and geology. Chemically, metal-sulfide minerals are speculated to serve as an important medium for giving birth in early life, while yet so far direct evidence to support the hypothesis for the highly efficient conversion of inorganic carbon into praxiological biomolecules remains scarce. In this work, we provide an initial indication that sphalerite, employed as a typical mineral, shows its enormous capability for promoting the conversion of inorganic carbon into elementary biomolecule formic acid (HCOOH) in airborne mineral-bearing aerosol microdroplet, which is over two orders of magnitude higher than

SUBMITTER: Ge Q 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10682977 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature