Photo-oxidation of iron(II) in water between pH 7.5 and 4.0

Braterman, Paul S.; Cairns-Smith, A. G.; Sloper, R. W.; Truscott, T. George; Craw, M. T.

doi:10.1039/dt9840001441

Cited by 60 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…A concerted reaction mechanism was proposed to explain these results. The photooxidation offerrous ion in the Archaen oceans has been proposed as an explanation of the Banded Iron Formations (2) and supporting evidence has been obtained (3)(4)(5). We were interested in the relevance of this reaction to the hypothesis that early photosynthesis could involve the formation of hydrogen (6).…”

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confidence: 99%

RETRACTED: Photoreduction of carbon dioxide by aqueous ferrous ion: An alternative to the strongly reducing atmosphere for the chemical origin of life

Borowska

Mauzerall

1988

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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We have shown that ferrous ion at neutral pH photoreduces water to hydrogen with a high quantum yield on excitation with near-ultraviolet light. This simple system also efficiently reduces carbon dioxide (bicarbonate ions) to formaldehyde. Overall, these reactions offer a solution to a dilemma confronting the standard or Oparin-Urey model of the origin oflife. If carbon dioxide was the main form ofcarbon on the primitive earth, the ferrous photoreaction would have provided the reduced carbon necessary to form amino acids and other biogenetic molecules. We believe this system may have been the progenitor to the biological photosynthetic systems.The quantum yield for the formation of hydrogen on irradiating aqueous ferrous ion at neutral pH with near-ultraviolet light is surprisingly high, >0.3 (1). A concerted reaction mechanism was proposed to explain these results. The photooxidation offerrous ion in the Archaen oceans has been proposed as an explanation of the Banded Iron Formations (2) and supporting evidence has been obtained (3-5). We were interested in the relevance of this reaction to the hypothesis that early photosynthesis could involve the formation of hydrogen (6). We have suggested (1) that this source of hydrogen may also contribute to the solution of an increasingly vexing problem concerning the origin of essential constituents for the chemical origin of life. The comprehensive data of Stribling and Miller (7) clearly show that the yield of amino acids from a spark discharge decreases continuously as the reduction level of carbon decreases from -4 (methane) through -2 (carbon monoxide) and drops to insignificance on approaching +4 (carbon dioxide). However, geochemical models increasingly favor the emission of carbon dioxide, not methane, from degassing of the early earth (8-10), although there is no geological evidence available on this important matter. A continuous and large-scale production of reducing equivalents is thus needed as an alternative standard model of the origin of life. It is possible that hydrogen formation from irradiated aqueous ferrous ion at neutral pH or, more likely, the highly reactive intermediate reducing equivalents, served to reduce the carbon dioxide. Getoff (11,12) reported that UV light induces photochemical reduction of carbon dioxide in aqueous solutions of ferrous ion leading to the formation of several organic compounds. Ackerman et al. (13) have shown that in the presence of transition metal salts aqueous saturated solutions of carbon dioxide were reduced to formate and formaldehyde and then, in low yield, to methanol and methane when irradiated with UV light of 254 nm. Joe et al.t report that formate and formaldehyde were produced on irradiating solid ferrous carbonate suspended in water. Most of the above work was exploratory and detailed yields were not measured. Our quantitative data indicate that irradiating aqueous ferrous ion at neutral pH with near-UV light (306-390 nm) reduces bicarbonate solutions to formaldehyde in good yield. MATERIALS AND ...

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confidence: 99%

RETRACTED: Photoreduction of carbon dioxide by aqueous ferrous ion: An alternative to the strongly reducing atmosphere for the chemical origin of life

Borowska

Mauzerall

1988

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…The growth for all seedlings was carried out in the dark for 7 days at the ambient conditions of *23°C and a RH of *55 %. Growth in the dark was necessary to prevent the photo-oxidation of Fe(II) (Brateman et al 1984). Like many cultivated species, maize seeds are able to germinate equally well in light or dark.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interfacing carbon nanotubes (CNT) with plants: enhancement of growth, water and ionic nutrient uptake in maize (Zea mays) and implications for nanoagriculture

et al. 2013

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The application of nano-biotechnology to cropscience/agriculture ('nanoagriculture') is a recent development. While carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been shown to dramatically improve germination of some comestible plants, deficiencies in consistency of behavior and reproducibility arise, partially from the variability of the CNTs used. In this work, factory-synthesized multi-walled-CNTs (MWCNTs) of quality-controlled specifications were seen to enhance the germinative growth of maize seedlings at low concentrations but depress it at higher concentrations. Growth enhancement principally arose through improved water delivery by the MWCNT. Polarized EDXRF spectrometry showed that MWCNTs affect mineral nutrient supply to the seedling through the action of the mutually opposing forces of inflow with water and retention in the medium by the ion-CNT transient-dipole interaction. The effect varied with ion type and MWCNT concentration.

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“…It has also been suggested that abiotic photochemical reactions were responsible for the oxidation of soluble Fe(II) (equation 3), using electrons from iron to reduce protons (from water) to hydrogen (Cairns-Smith, 1978;Braterman et al, 1983;Braterman et al, 1984):…”

Section: Iron In Iron Formationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

An iron shuttle for deepwater silica in Late Archean and early Paleoproterozoic iron formation

Fischer

Knoll

2006

Geol Soc America Bull

123

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Photo-oxidation of iron(II) in water between pH 7.5 and 4.0

Cited by 60 publications

References 8 publications

RETRACTED: Photoreduction of carbon dioxide by aqueous ferrous ion: An alternative to the strongly reducing atmosphere for the chemical origin of life

RETRACTED: Photoreduction of carbon dioxide by aqueous ferrous ion: An alternative to the strongly reducing atmosphere for the chemical origin of life

Interfacing carbon nanotubes (CNT) with plants: enhancement of growth, water and ionic nutrient uptake in maize (Zea mays) and implications for nanoagriculture

An iron shuttle for deepwater silica in Late Archean and early Paleoproterozoic iron formation

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