Materials Chemistry and Physics 291 (2022) 126720 Available online 9 September 2022 0254-0584/© 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Adsorption of cytosine on prebiotic siliceous clay surface induced with metal dications: Relevance to origin of life Preeti Bhatt a, * , Chandra Kala Pant a, ** , Pramod Pandey a, b, 1 , Yogesh Pandey a , Satish Chandra Sati a , Mohan Singh Mehata c a Department of Chemistry, DSB Campus, Kumaun University (KU), Nainital, 263002, Uttarakhand, India b State Key Laboratory for Molecular Reaction Dynamics, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), 457 Zhongshan Road, Dalian, 116023, Liaoning, China c Department of Applied Physics, Delhi Technological University (DTU), Bawana Road, Delhi, 110042, India HIGHLIGHTS G R A P H I C A L ABSTRACT ● Adsorption studies of cytosine on montmorillonite clay surface with and without incorporated metal ions (Mg 2+ , Ca 2+ , Fe 2+ and Cu 2+ ). ● The study signifes that metal ions (specifcally transition metal ion) enhance the adsorption capability of clay minerals. ● Langmuir type adsorption was observed with monolayer formation. ● Present study suggests a simple pathway in support of chemical evolu- tion on primitive Eath. ● Physico-chemical parameters might be helpful to explore the plausibility of life beyond Earth. A R T I C L E INFO Keywords: Adsorption Cytosine Montmorillonite clay Metal ions Langmuir adsorption parameters Prebiotic chemical evolution ABSTRACT Adsorption of protobiomolecules on primigenial mineral surfaces transacts a very specifc and selective role in prebiotic chemical evolution. Cytosine (CYN) is a core constituent of genetic macromolecules i.e., DNA and RNA. A prebiotic simulation experiment following adsorption behaviour of a nucleic acid base CYN, as a function of pH, concentration, time and temperature on the surface of Montmorillonite (MMT), a prominent siliceous clay of smectite group having specifc surface area, was studied systematically and methodically using UV, FTIR, SEM and XRD. Biologically signifcant metal dication [M 2+ = Mg 2+ , Ca 2+ , Fe 2+ and Cu 2+ ] embeded surfaces of MMT (MMT-M 2+ ) were prepared separately by cation-exchange approach. Results observed through UV spectral data reveal a very signifcant role of metal ions on the quantity of CYN adsorbed on different solid surfaces. The adsorption behaviour ftted well with Langmuir isotherm model and the adsorption isotherm shows monolayer formation of CYN (as adsorbate) on the surface of MMT and MMT-M 2+ (as adsorbent) showing Langmuir type adsorption. The calculated Langmuir adsorption parameters (K L & X m ) delineate appreciable interaction of CYN * Corresponding author. ** Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: preetibhatt00@gmail.com, preeti_bhatt@kunainital.ac.in (P. Bhatt), ckp_ku@yahoo.co.in (C.K. Pant). 1 Current address: Applied Science Department (Chemistry), Bipin Tripathi Kumaun Institute of Technology (BTKIT), Dwarahat, Almora 263653, Uttarakhand, India. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Materials Chemistry and Physics journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/matchemphys https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matchemphys.2022.126720 Received 8 January 2022; Received in revised form 26 August 2022; Accepted 27 August 2022