Chemical Gardens

Synonyms

Mineral self-assembling structures

Acronyms

Chemobrionics

Definition

Chemical gardens are mineral biomorphic structures produced by self-organizing nonequilibrium processes during which a metal-salt acts as a seed for the irreversible precipitation of a large panel of anions (silicate, phosphate, carbonate, and others). Generally, the process involves the following step: (a) formation of a semipermeable metal/anion hydrate membrane; (b) osmotic expansion and rupture of the initial membrane; and (c) growing of a bilayered biomorphic structure (composed by external anion-rich layer and internal metal oxide–rich layer) (Cartwright et al. 2002). Chemical gardens can fuel prebiotic chemistry transformations due to the generation of ionic and pH gradients across the membrane (Glaab et al. 2021). Representative examples are the syntheses of prebiotically relevant compounds, such as amino acids, nucleic acid bases, and carboxylic acids, from formamide and metal salts in the presence...