A mineral-based origin of Earth’s initial hydrogen peroxide and molecular oxygen

Terrestrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) may have played a central role in the formation of oxic environments and evolution of early life. The abiotic origin of ROS on the Archean Earth has been heavily studied, and ROS are conventionally thought to have originated from H2O/CO2 dissociation. Here, we report experiments that lead to a mineral-based source of oxygen, rather than water alone. The mechanism involves ROS generation at abraded mineral-water interfaces in various geodynamic processes (e.g., water currents and earthquakes) which are active where free electrons are created via open-shell electrons and point defects, high pressure, water/ice interactions, and combinations of these processes. The experiments reported here show that quartz or silicate minerals may produce reactive oxygen-containing sites (≡SiO•, ≡SiOO•) that initially emerge in cleaving Si-O bonds in silicates and generate ROS during contact with water. Experimental isotope-labeling experiments show that the hydroxylation of the peroxy radical (≡SiOO•) is the predominant pathway for H2O2 generation. This heterogeneous ROS production chemistry allows the transfer of oxygen atoms between water and rocks and alters their isotopic compositions. This process may be pervasive in the natural environment, and mineral-based production of H2O2 and accompanying O2 could occur on Earth and potentially on other terrestrial planets, providing initial oxidants and free oxygen, and be a component in the evolution of life and planetary habitability.