Chemical gardens, which form self-assembling inorganic membrane structures, are important for a variety of applications, including simulating hydrothermal vent chimneys that may have provided an environment for life’s emergence. We characterized the three-dimensional (3D) structure of a simulated hydrothermal chimney by encasing the chimney in resin and using X-ray computer tomography (CT) scanning. The chimney exhibits thin inorganic membranes, a high internal surface area, and a porous/permeable interior. The observed merging and intertwined fluid flow conduits suggest that prebiotic reactions driven by reactive minerals in chimney pores could generate products that could move to another gradient region to react further. These methods are useful to nondestructively characterize the physical and fluid flow properties of chemical garden precipitates in a variety of systems.

中文翻译：

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模拟益生元热烟囱的三维分析

形成自组装无机膜结构的化学花园对于多种应用非常重要，包括模拟可能为生命的出现提供了环境的热液通风烟囱。我们通过将烟囱包裹在树脂中并使用X射线计算机断层扫描（CT）扫描来表征模拟热液烟囱的三维（3D）结构。烟囱具有薄的无机膜，高的内表面积和多孔/可渗透的内部。观察到的融合和纠缠的流体流动管道表明，烟囱孔中反应性矿物质驱动的益生元反应可能生成可能移至另一个梯度区域进一步反应的产物。