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Microbes and Other Elemental Cycles01:24

Microbes and Other Elemental Cycles

Microbial activity plays a pivotal role in the biogeochemical cycling of iron and manganese, especially at the redox gradients characteristic of stratified aquatic environments. These cycles are driven by microbial transformations between oxidized and reduced forms of the metals, allowing organisms to exploit them for metabolic energy and structural purposes.Iron Cycling Across Redox GradientsIn neutral, oxygen-rich surface waters, iron is predominantly found in its oxidized, insoluble ferric...
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During the electron transport chain, electrons from NADH and FADH2 are first transferred to complexes I and II, respectively. These two complexes then transfer the electrons to ubiquinol, which carries them further to complex III. Complex III passes the electrons across the intermembrane space to Cyt c, which carries them further to complex IV. Complex IV donates electrons to oxygen and reduces it to water. As electrons pass through complexes I, III, and IV, the energy released aids the pumping...
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Visualizing the Hidden Atomic Pathways of Iron Oxidation.

Wei Tu1, Shuoqi Zhang2, Zhen Zeng3

  • 1State Key Laboratory of Metastable Materials Science and Technology, Yanshan University, Qinhuangdao, Hebei 066004, China.

Journal of the American Chemical Society
|June 10, 2026
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Iron oxidation initiates with a buried FeO layer, not at the surface. This interface-driven process forms a stable FeO/Fe3O4/Fe trilayer, challenging existing oxidation models.

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Setup of Capillary Electrophoresis-Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (CE-ICP-MS) for Quantification of Iron Redox Species (Fe(II), Fe(III))
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Setup of Capillary Electrophoresis-Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (CE-ICP-MS) for Quantification of Iron Redox Species (Fe(II), Fe(III))

Published on: May 4, 2020

Area of Science:

  • Materials Science
  • Surface Science
  • Nanotechnology

Background:

  • Iron oxidation is crucial for planetary science and industrial applications like steel and catalysis.
  • Previous research focused on surface kinetics, leaving sub-surface atomic transformations during early oxidation poorly understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To directly visualize and understand the atomic-scale mechanisms of iron oxidation at its earliest stages.
  • To investigate the sub-surface transformations occurring during the incipient phase of iron oxidation.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized in situ environmental scanning/transmission electron microscopy (ETEM/ESTEM) for direct atomic visualization.
  • Observed the nucleation and growth of oxide layers on metallic iron under reactive conditions.

Main Results:

  • Identified the nucleation of an epitaxial iron(II) oxide (FeO) layer on metallic iron.
  • Revealed a phase transformation at the buried FeO/Fe interface, forming iron(II,III) oxide (Fe3O4), rather than at the gas-exposed surface.
  • Discovered a self-regulating FeO/Fe3O4/Fe trilayer structure, contradicting the assumption of monotonically increasing oxidation states towards the surface.

Conclusions:

  • The study uncovers a counterintuitive, interface-driven mechanism for iron oxidation.
  • Provides a new atomic-scale understanding of oxide stability and phase evolution in reactive environments.
  • Challenges prevailing models of oxidation kinetics and sub-surface transformations.