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Hexagonal plate-like magnetite nanocrystals produced in komatiite–H2O–CO2 reaction system at 450°C

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 April 2015

Xi-Luo Hao  and
Yi-Liang Li
Xi-Luo Hao
Affiliation:
Department of Earth Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China
Yi-Liang Li*
Affiliation:
Department of Earth Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China
*
e-mail: yiliang@hku.hk
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Abstract

Batch experiments of komatiite–H2O–CO2 system with temperatures from 200 to 450°C were performed to simulate the interactions between the newly formed ultramafic crust and the proto-atmosphere on Earth before the formation of its earliest ocean. Particularly, magnetite nanocrystals were observed in the experiment carried out at 450°C that are characterized by their hexagonal platelet-like morphology and porous structure. Exactly the same set of lattice fringes on the two opposite sides of one pore suggests post-crystallization erosion. The results demonstrate that magnetite could be produced by the direct interactions between the ultramafic rocky crust and the atmosphere before the formation of the ocean on the Hadean Earth. These magnetite nanoparticles could serve as a catalyst in the synthesis of simple organic molecules during the organochemical evolution towards life.

Keywords

magnetiteprebiotic evolutionwater–rock interaction

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
International Journal of Astrobiology , Volume 14 , Issue 4 , October 2015 , pp. 547 - 553
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

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