Rouillard, J.; Garcia-Ruiz, J. M.; Gong, J.; van Zuilen, M. A., A morphogram for silica-witherite biomorphs and its application to microfossil identification in the early earth rock record. Geobiology 2018. Download paper. Archean hydrothermal environments formed a likely site for the origin and early evolution of life. These are also the settings, however, were complex abiologic structures can form. Low-temperature serpentinization of ultramafic crust can generate alkaline, silica-saturated fluids in which carbonate-silica crystalline aggregates with…

Opel, J.; Kellermeier, M.; Sickinger, A.; Morales, J.; Coelfen, H.; Garcia-Ruiz, J.-M., Structural Transition of Inorganic Silica-Carbonate Composites Towards Curved Lifelike Morphologies. Minerals 2018, 8 (2). Download paper. The self-assembly of alkaline earth carbonates in the presence of silica at high pH leads to a unique class of composite materials displaying a broad variety of self-assembled superstructures with complex morphologies. A detailed understanding of the formation process of these purely inorganic architectures is crucial for…