@misc{10481/66397,
year = {2020},
month = {11},
url = {http://hdl.handle.net/10481/66397},
abstract = {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, serpentinizationderived
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.},
organization = {Centro de Instrumentacion Cientifica (CIC) of the University of Granada, Spain},
organization = {University of Granada, Spain},
organization = {MINECO/FEDER 	
MAT2017-87579-R
MAT2016-81118-P},
organization = {Junta de Andalucía

FQM334},
organization = {European Research Council under the Programme (FP7/2007-2013)/ERC 	
340863},
publisher = {Wiley},
title = {Nanoscale Anatomy of Iron-Silica Self-Organized Membranes: Implications for Prebiotic Chemistry},
doi = {10.1002/anie.202012059},
author = {Kotopoulou, Electra and López Haro, Miguel and Calvino Gámez, José Juan and García Ruiz, Juan Manuel},
}