Unveiling redox mechanism at the iron centers in the mechanochemically activated conversion of CO in the presence of olivine.

Unlabelled: The transformation of olivine during the conversion of CO to light hydrocarbons activated by mechanochemical treatments at different impact frequencies was studied by a combination of several complementary characterization methods including X-ray diffraction, Raman and Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy. Several olivine samples were studied as a function of the milling time, indicating the gradual transformation of Fe-containing olivine into new Fe-containing weathering products including iron oxides, magnesium iron carbonates and silicates. The results presented here complement those of a previous study on the weathering process of olivine promoted by mechanochemical activation, by demonstrating the role of the redox activity of the iron species during the activation process.