Mimicking lightning-induced electrochemistry on the early Earth.

To test the hypothesis that an abiotic Earth and its inert atmosphere could form chemically reactive carbon- and nitrogen-containing compounds, we designed a plasma electrochemical setup to mimic lightning-induced electrochemistry under steady-state conditions of the early Earth. Air-gap electrochemical reactions at air-water-ground interfaces lead to remarkable yields, with up to 40 moles of carbon dioxide being reduced into carbon monoxide and formic acid, and 3 moles of gaseous nitrogen being fixed into nitrate, nitrite, and ammonium ions, per mole of transmitted electrons. Interfaces enable reactants (e.

Magnetic Multienzyme@Metal-Organic Material for Sustainable Biodegradation of Insoluble Biomass.

Biodegradation of insoluble biomass such as cellulose via carbohydrase enzymes is an effective approach to break down plant cell walls and extract valuable materials therein. Yet, the high cost and poor reusability of enzymes are practical concerns. We recently proved that immobilizing multiple digestive enzymes on metal-organic materials (MOMs) allows enzymes to be reused via gravimetric separation, improving the cost efficiency of cereal biomass degradation [ , , 36, 43085-43093].