ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2019
Photoelectric conversion on Earth's surface via widespread Fe- and Mn-mineral coatings.
Article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers.
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Who cites it
27 citing papers in PubMed.
- Silicate-bound iron drives abiotic solar energy conversion in terrestrial environments.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Cycling of Fe(II)/Fe(III) in the euphotic zone mediated by mineral photocatalysis.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Manganese (Hydr)oxides record the dynamic evolution of a million-year Hesperian Ocean in Utopia Planitia, Mars.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Foliar Application of Iron Nanoparticles Improves Chinese Cabbage Growth.Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Facet-dependent Heterogeneous Fenton Reaction Mechanisms on Hematite Nanoparticles for (Photo)catalytic Degradation of Organic Dyes.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2025Article
- Ultrafast electron transfer kinetics at semiconductor-microbe interface: key to efficient extracellular photoelectron utilization.Applied and environmental microbiology · 2025Article
- Novel energy utilization mechanisms of microorganisms in the hydrosphere.Fundamental research · 2025Review
- Article
- The Photothermal Synergistic Mechanism of Rock Varnish Photoconductance Under Laser Irradiation.Materials (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- The Influence of Exogenous CdS Nanoparticles on the Growth and Carbon Assimilation Efficiency ofBiology · 2024Article
- Effect of MnGeochemical transactions · 2024Article
- Perspectives for Photocatalytic Decomposition of Environmental Pollutants on Photoactive Particles of Soil Minerals.Materials (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Biocatalytic conversion of sunlight and carbon dioxide to solar fuels and chemicals.RSC advances · 2022Review
- Light Promotes the Immobilization of U(VI) by Ferrihydrite.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- A Narrative Review on Oral and Periodontal Bacteria Microbiota Photobiomodulation, through Visible and Near-Infrared Light: From the Origins to Modern Therapies.International journal of molecular sciences · 2022Review
- Soil Respiration of Paddy Soils Were Stimulated by Semiconductor Minerals.Frontiers in plant science · 2022Article
- Effect of Photoreduction of Semiconducting Iron Mineral-Goethite on Microbial Community in the Marine Euphotic Zone.Frontiers in microbiology · 2022Article
- Molecular insights and future frontiers in cell photosensitization for solar-driven COiScience · 2021Review
- Analysis of Rock Varnish from the Mojave Desert by Handheld Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Review
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21 authors.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Sunlight drives photosynthesis and associated biological processes, and also influences inorganic processes that shape Earth's climate and geochemistry. Bacterial solar-to-chemical energy conversion on this planet evolved to use an intricate intracellular process of phototrophy. However, a natural nonbiological counterpart to phototrophy has yet to be recognized. In this work, we reveal the inherent "phototrophic-like" behavior of vast expanses of natural rock/soil surfaces from deserts, red soils, and karst environments, all of which can drive photon-to-electron conversions. Using scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, micro-Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray absorption spectroscopy, Fe and Mn (oxyhydr)oxide-rich coatings were found in rock varnishes, as were Fe (oxyhydr)oxides on red soil surfaces and minute amounts of Mn oxides on karst rock surfaces. By directly fabricating a photoelectric detection device on the thin section of a rock varnish sample, we have recorded an in situ photocurrent micromapping of the coatings, which behave as highly sensitive and stable photoelectric systems. Additional measurements of red soil and powder separated from the outermost surface of karst rocks yielded photocurrents that are also sensitive to irradiation. The prominent solar-responsive capability of the phototrophic-like rocks/soils is ascribed to the semiconducting Fe- and Mn (oxyhydr)oxide-mineral coatings. The native semiconducting Fe/Mn-rich coatings may play a role similar, in part, to photosynthetic systems and thus provide a distinctive driving force for redox (bio)geochemistry on Earth's surfaces.
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