Influence of Composition of Nickel‐Iron Nanoparticles for Abiotic CO 2 Conversion to Early Prebiotic Organics
Open accessAbstract
Abiotic synthesis of formate and short hydrocarbons takes place in serpentinizing vents where some members of vent microbial communities live on abiotic formate as their main carbon source. To better understand the catalytic properties of Ni−Fe minerals that naturally exist in hydrothermal vents, we have investigated the ability of synthetic Ni−Fe based nanoparticular solids to catalyze the H 2 ‐dependent reduction of CO 2 , the first step required for the beginning of pre‐biotic chemistry. Mono and bimetallic Ni−Fe nanoparticles with varied Ni‐to‐Fe ratios transform CO 2 and H 2 into intermediates and products of the acetyl‐coenzyme A pathway—formate, acetate, and pyruvate—in mM range under mild hydrothermal conditions. Furthermore, Ni−Fe catalysts converted CO 2 to similar products without molecular H 2 by using water as a hydrogen source. Both CO 2 chemisorption analysis and post‐reaction characterization of materials indicate that Ni and Fe metals play complementary roles for CO 2 fixation.
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Fe0, Ni0, Ni3Fe and silica-supported Co-Fe alloys can replace the proteins that synthesize formate, acetate, pyruvate from H2 and CO2 via the acetyl-CoA pathway.
“Second, Fe0, Ni0, Ni3Fe and silica‐supported Co‐Fe alloys can replace the proteins that synthesize formate, acetate, pyruvate from H2 and CO2 via the acetyl‐CoA pathway [60, 61, 62, 63, 64] (Fig. 1C).”
From Evidence for corrin biosynthesis in the last universal common ancestor (2025) · cites this paper as [62]
Only the acetyl-CoA pathway operates in vitro to form formate, acetate and pyruvate from H2 and CO2 without enzymes or cofactors, using only metals or minerals that occur in hydrothermal vents as catalysts.
“Moreover, only one of those seven, again only the acetyl CoA pathway, operates in vitro to form its main products – formate, acetate and pyruvate [49, 90] – from H2 and CO2 without enzymes or cofactors, using only metals or minerals that occur in hydrothermal vents as catalysts [60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 125].”
From Evidence for corrin biosynthesis in the last universal common ancestor (2025) · cites this paper as [62]
The amount of pyruvate formed via metal-catalyzed, non-enzymatic versions of the acetyl-CoA pathway can reach up to 200 μM.
“In addition, the amount of pyruvate formed via metal‐catalyzed, non‐enzymatic versions of the acetyl‐CoA pathway can reach up to 200 μm [62]”
From Evidence for corrin biosynthesis in the last universal common ancestor (2025) · cites this paper as [62]
The present findings trace corrinoids to the earliest phases of biochemical evolution, to a time when some essential biochemical functions were performed by proteins, some by cofactors alone and some by solid-state metals.
“The present findings trace corrinoids to the earliest phases of biochemical evolution, to a time when some essential biochemical functions were performed by proteins, some were performed by cofactors alone and some were still performed by solid‐state metals [62, 64, 77, 90].”
From Evidence for corrin biosynthesis in the last universal common ancestor (2025) · cites this paper as [62]
Under the conditions of serpentinizing hydrothermal vents, transition metals alone convert H2 and CO2 into formate, acetate and pyruvate in water.
“Under the conditions of serpentinizing hydrothermal vents, transition metals alone convert H2 and CO2 into formate, acetate and pyruvate in water [60, 62, 63, 158].”
From Evidence for corrin biosynthesis in the last universal common ancestor (2025) · cites this paper as [62]
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- Authors
- Beyazay, T., Ochoa‐Hernández, C., Song, Y., Belthle, K. S., Martin, W. F., & Tüysüz, H.
- Affiliations
- Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung (DE)
- Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Tüysüz, Harun
- ORCID
- Venue
- Angewandte Chemie International Edition
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2023-04-19
- Volume
- 62
- Issue
- 22
- Pages
- e202218189-e202218189
- ISSN
- 1433-7851 (ISSN-L)
- 1521-3773
- OpenAlex
- W4360601322
- Cited by
- 50
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 12 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 9
- FWCI
- 5.83
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Angewandte Chemie International Edition (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Volkswagen Foundation (96_742.)
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft ((MA-1426/21-1 / TU 315/8-1))
- Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Astronomy and Astrophysics › Origins and Evolution of Life
- Physical Sciences › Energy › Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment › CO2 Reduction Techniques and Catalysts
- Physical Sciences › Chemical Engineering › Process Chemistry and Technology › Carbon dioxide utilization in catalysis
- Keywords
- prebiotic chemistry, serpentinization, hydrothermal vents, formate production, acetyl-CoA pathway, acetate, pyruvate, CO2 chemisorption, water as hydrogen source, bimetallic catalysts, Ni/Fe ratio, CO2 fixation
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