A newly discovered abiotic humification pathway is highly accelerated in frozen solutions containing phenolic compounds and nitrite. At -20°C, the production of humic-like acids (HLA) and fulvic-like acids (FLA) was significant, unlike in aqueous solutions at 20°C. During this process, inorganic nitrogen transforms into organic nitrogen. Analyses using mass spectrometry and elemental techniques revealed that these humification products resemble natural humic substances. The freeze-concentration effect, where nitrite ions convert to nitrosonium ions that oxidize phenols to phenolic radicals, drives this reaction. Confocal Raman microscopy and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy confirmed the concentration of catechol and nitrite ions at the ice grain boundary and the presence of phenolic radicals in frozen solutions, respectively. This study proposes a new model for abiotic humic substance formation under frozen environmental conditions. -Scientific Journal cover by scapiens
[Scientific Journal cover design] Low-Thermal-Budget Fluorite-Structure Ferroelectrics for Future Electronic Device Applications
In article number 2100028, Jiyoung Kim, Si Joon Kim, and their team review key factors involved in developing fluorite-structure ferroelectrics
