Iron played a critical catalytic role in the origin of early life on Earth.

Iñaki Del Amo Castillo. Lightning, Minerals, and the Iron Bottleneck: A Probabilistic Geochemical Framework for Early Abiogenesis Environments V8. 2026. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8579406/v1

Notes that iron-sulfur mineral surfaces enhance molecular stability and reactivity in prebiotic surface environments.

Maximilian Bechtel, Marian Ebeling, Laura Huber, Oliver Trapp. (Photoredox) Organocatalysis in the Emergence of Life: Discovery, Applications, and Molecular Evolution.. 2023. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.accounts.3c00396

Highlights how prebiotically plausible iron-particle catalysis aids in forming key organic building blocks.

Bradley T Burcar, Laura M Barge, Dustin Trail, E Bruce Watson, Michael J Russell, Linda B McGown. RNA Oligomerization in Laboratory Analogues of Alkaline Hydrothermal Vent Systems.. 2015. https://doi.org/10.1089/ast.2014.1280

Demonstrates that iron- and sulfur-rich chimney structures successfully support RNA oligomerization reactions.

William Martin, Michael J Russell. On the origins of cells: a hypothesis for the evolutionary transitions from abiotic geochemistry to chemoautotrophic prokaryotes, and from prokaryotes to nucleated cells.. 2003. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2002.1183

Proposes that iron monosulphide precipitates and FeS centers played a central catalytic role in early abiogenesis and chemoautotrophic prokaryote emergence.

Gabriel Piedrafita, Sreejith J Varma, Cecilia Castro, Christoph B Messner, Lukasz Szyrwiel, Julian L Griffin, Markus Ralser. Cysteine and iron accelerate the formation of ribose-5-phosphate, providing insights into the evolutionary origins of the metabolic network structure.. 2021. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3001468

Shows that iron-driven reaction networks, augmented by amino acids, accelerate key prebiotic metabolic precursors such as ribose-5-phosphate.