Chemical Diversity of Metal Sulfide Minerals and Its Implications for the Origin of Life.

ABSTRACT: Prebiotic organic synthesis catalyzed by Earth-abundant metal sulfides is a key process for understanding the evolution of biochemistry from inorganic molecules, yet the catalytic functions of sulfides have remained poorly explored in the context of the origin of life. Past studies on prebiotic chemistry have mostly focused on a few types of metal sulfide catalysts, such as FeS or NiS, which form limited types of products with inferior activity and selectivity. To explore the potential of metal sulfides on catalyzing prebiotic chemical reactions, here, the chemical diversity (variations in chemical composition and phase structure) of 304 natural metal sulfide minerals in a mineralogy database was surveyed. Approaches to rationally predict the catalytic functions of metal sulfides are discu

SUBMITTER: Li Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6316247 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature