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Time-resolved synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction study of magnetite formation by the Fe(III)-reducing bacterium Geobacter sulfurreducens

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Published/Copyright: April 1, 2015
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American Mineralogist
From the journal American Mineralogist Volume 93 Issue 4

Abstract

The Fe(III)-reducing bacterium Geobacter sulfurreducens produces nanometer-sized magnetite by transferring electrons from organic matter or hydrogen to ferrihydrite, resulting in the reductive transformation of the ferrihydrite to magnetite, and the generation of ATP for growth. Electron transfer can occur by direct contact between the cell surface and the mineral or via a soluble “electron shuttle,” for example a quinone-containing humic species. The minerals produced at different stages of ferrihydrite reduction during two experiments, one with and one without the humic analog anthraquinone-2, 6-disulphonate (AQDS), were measured using high-resolution synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction. Amorphous 2-line ferrihydrite converts to goethite, then to a mixture of goethite and magnetite, and finally to magnetite. Samples with and without AQDS showed the same general mineralogical trends, and the rate of reaction was faster in the presence of AQDS. In addition, two transient minerals structurally similar to goethite and magnetite were observed to form as intermediates between ferrihydrite and goethite and goethite and magnetite, but only in samples produced in the absence of the electron shuttle. These transient minerals were named proto-goethite and proto-magnetite. Proto-goethite has a shorter c-axis [4.467(20) Å] than crystalline goethite, a function of size (<2 nm) where quantum properties prevail.

Proto-magnetite is identified by long tetrahedral (2.113 Å) and short octahedral (1.943 Å) Fe-O bonds compared to stoichiometric magnetite, possibly indicative of a coordination crossover caused by charge density [Fe(II)] migration to tetrahedral sites. Fe(II) in solution or sorbed to the mineral surface is considered to be the catalyst causing the mineral transformations. The Fe(II) is thought to form predominantly from the reductive dissolution of 2-line ferrihydrite by G. sulfurreducens.

Keywords: Fe(III)-reduction; magnetite; biogenic transformation; ferrihydrite; diffraction; goethite; Geobacter
Received: 2006-9-26
Accepted: 2007-9-28
Published Online: 2015-4-1
Published in Print: 2008-4-1

© 2015 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin/Boston

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  3. White mica domain formation: A model for paragonite, margarite, and muscovite formation during prograde metamorphism
  4. High-pressure phase transitions in MgSiO3 orthoenstatite studied by atomistic computer simulation
  5. Time-resolved synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction study of magnetite formation by the Fe(III)-reducing bacterium Geobacter sulfurreducens
  6. Low-temperature calorimetric and magnetic data for natural end-members of the axinite group
  7. Temperature derivatives of elastic wave velocities in plagioclase (An51±1) above and below the order-disorder transition temperature
  8. Disordered silica with tridymite-like structure in the Twiggs clay
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  11. The crystal chemistry of Fe-bearing sphalerites: An infrared spectroscopic study
  12. Effects of hydration on the structure and compressibility of wadsleyite, β-(Mg2SiO4)
  13. Metastability of sillimanite relative to corundum and quartz in the kyanite stability field: Competition between stable and metastable reactions
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  15. Thermal behavior of a Ti-rich phlogopite from Mt. Vulture (Potenza, Italy): An in situ X-ray single-crystal diffraction study
  16. The high-pressure behavior of an Al- and Fe-rich natural orthopyroxene
  17. High-pressure phase relation of MnSiO3 up to 85 GPa: Existence of MnSiO3 perovskite
  18. Linking Mössbauer and structural parameters in elbaite-schorl-dravite tourmalines
  19. Synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction study of the structure and dehydration behavior of palygorskite
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  21. Eskolaite associated with diamond from the Udachnaya kimberlite pipe, Yakutia, Russia
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https://doi.org/10.2138/am.2008.2467
Keywords for this article
Fe(III)-reduction; magnetite; biogenic transformation; ferrihydrite; diffraction; goethite; Geobacter

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Compositional variability and crystal structural features of guanacoite
  2. Interferometric study of pyrite surface reactivity in acidic conditions
  3. White mica domain formation: A model for paragonite, margarite, and muscovite formation during prograde metamorphism
  4. High-pressure phase transitions in MgSiO3 orthoenstatite studied by atomistic computer simulation
  5. Time-resolved synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction study of magnetite formation by the Fe(III)-reducing bacterium Geobacter sulfurreducens
  6. Low-temperature calorimetric and magnetic data for natural end-members of the axinite group
  7. Temperature derivatives of elastic wave velocities in plagioclase (An51±1) above and below the order-disorder transition temperature
  8. Disordered silica with tridymite-like structure in the Twiggs clay
  9. Crystal structures of synthetic melanotekite (Pb2Fe2Si2O9), kentrolite (Pb2Mn2Si2O9), and the aluminum analogue (Pb2Al2Si2O9)
  10. Structure and reactivity of synthetic Co-substituted goethites
  11. The crystal chemistry of Fe-bearing sphalerites: An infrared spectroscopic study
  12. Effects of hydration on the structure and compressibility of wadsleyite, β-(Mg2SiO4)
  13. Metastability of sillimanite relative to corundum and quartz in the kyanite stability field: Competition between stable and metastable reactions
  14. Diffusion, discontinuous precipitation, metamorphism, and metasomatism: The complex history of South African upper-mantle symplectites
  15. Thermal behavior of a Ti-rich phlogopite from Mt. Vulture (Potenza, Italy): An in situ X-ray single-crystal diffraction study
  16. The high-pressure behavior of an Al- and Fe-rich natural orthopyroxene
  17. High-pressure phase relation of MnSiO3 up to 85 GPa: Existence of MnSiO3 perovskite
  18. Linking Mössbauer and structural parameters in elbaite-schorl-dravite tourmalines
  19. Synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction study of the structure and dehydration behavior of palygorskite
  20. Maskelynite-hosted apatite in the Chassigny meteorite: Insights into late-stage magmatic volatile evolution in martian magmas
  21. Eskolaite associated with diamond from the Udachnaya kimberlite pipe, Yakutia, Russia
  22. Lakebogaite, CaNaFe23+H(UO2)2(PO4)4(OH)2(H2O)8, a new uranyl phosphate with a unique crystal structure from Victoria, Australia
  23. Letter. Crystal structure and Raman spectrum of hydroxyl-bästnasite-(Ce), CeCO3(OH)
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