Osmotic energy conversion in serpentinite-hosted deep-sea hydrothermal vents

Hye-Eun Lee (), Tomoyo Okumura, Hideshi Ooka, Kiyohiro Adachi, Takaaki Hikima, Kunio Hirata, Yoshiaki Kawano, Hiroaki Matsuura, Masaki Yamamoto, Masahiro Yamamoto, Akira Yamaguchi, Ji-Eun Lee, Hiroya Takahashi, Ki Tae Nam, Yasuhiko Ohara, Daisuke Hashizume, Shawn Erin McGlynn and Ryuhei Nakamura ()
Additional contact information
Hye-Eun Lee: RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science
Tomoyo Okumura: Kochi University
Hideshi Ooka: RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science
Kiyohiro Adachi: RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science
Takaaki Hikima: RIKEN SPring-8 Center
Kunio Hirata: RIKEN SPring-8 Center
Yoshiaki Kawano: RIKEN SPring-8 Center
Hiroaki Matsuura: RIKEN SPring-8 Center
Masaki Yamamoto: RIKEN SPring-8 Center
Masahiro Yamamoto: Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology
Akira Yamaguchi: RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science
Ji-Eun Lee: RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science
Hiroya Takahashi: RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science
Ki Tae Nam: Seoul National University
Yasuhiko Ohara: Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology
Daisuke Hashizume: RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science
Shawn Erin McGlynn: RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science
Ryuhei Nakamura: RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Abstract Cells harvest energy from ionic gradients by selective ion transport across membranes, and the same principle is recently being used for osmotic power generation from salinity gradients at ocean-river interfaces. Common to these ionic gradient conversions is that they require intricate nanoscale structures. Here, we show that natural submarine serpentinite-hosted hydrothermal vent (HV) precipitates are capable of converting ionic gradients into electrochemical energy by selective transport of Na+, K+, H+, and Cl-. Layered hydroxide nanocrystals are aligned radially outwards from the HV fluid channels, constituting confined nanopores that span millimeters in the HV wall. The nanopores change the surface charge depending on adsorbed ions, allowing the mineral to function as a cation- and anion-selective ion transport membrane. Our findings indicate that chemical disequilibria originating from flow and concentration gradients in geologic environments generate confined nanospaces which enable the spontaneous establishment of osmotic energy conversion.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-52332-3

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