文摘
Conversion of CO2 to organic compounds in hydrothermal systems is important in understanding prebiotic chemical evolution leading to the origin of life. However, organic compounds with carbon number of more than 3 have never been produced from dissolved CO2 in simulated hydrothermal experiments. In this paper, we report that not only CH4, C2H6 and C3H8, but also n-C4H10 and n-C5H12 could be produced from dissolved CO2 and H2 in the presence of cobalt-bearing magnetite at 300掳C and 30聽MPa. It is shown that unbranched alkanes in Anderson鈥揝chulz鈥揊lory distribution were the dominant hydrocarbon products produced from dissolved CO2 catalyzed by cobalt-bearing magnetite under certain hydrothermal conditions. It is proposed that magnetite with other transition metals may act potentially as effective mineral catalysts for abiotic formation of organic compounds from dissolved CO2 in hydrothermal systems.