Abstract

Iron sulfur (Fe–S) phases have been implicated in the emergence of life on early Earth due to their catalytic role in the synthesis of prebiotic molecules. Similarly, Fe–S phases are currently of high interest in the development of green catalysts and energy storage. Here we report the synthesis and structure of a nanoparticulate phase (FeSnano) that is a necessary solid-phase precursor to the conventionally assumed initial precipitate in the iron sulfide system, mackinawite. The structure of FeSnano contains tetrahedral iron, which is compensated by monosulfide and polysulfide sulfur species. These together dramatically affect the stability and enhance the reactivity of FeSnano.

Details

Title
A highly reactive precursor in the iron sulfide system
Author
Matamoros-Veloza, Adriana 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Cespedes, Oscar 2   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Johnson, Benjamin R G 2 ; Stawski, Tomasz M 3 ; Terranova, Umberto 4 ; de Leeuw, Nora H 5 ; Benning, Liane G 6   VIAFID ORCID Logo 

 School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK; School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK 
 School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK 
 School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK; German Research Centre for Geosciences, GFZ, Potsdam, Germany 
 Department of Chemistry, University College London, London, UK; School of Chemistry, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK 
 Department of Chemistry, University College London, London, UK; School of Chemistry, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK; Department of Earth Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands 
 School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK; German Research Centre for Geosciences, GFZ, Potsdam, Germany; Department of Earth Sciences, Free University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany 
Pages
1-7
Publication year
2018
Publication date
Aug 2018
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20411723
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2084910050
Copyright
© 2018. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.