Freeze-accelerated reactions on environmental relevant processes
Jiaxin Lv, Wenping Zuo, Chen Tian, Mengye Wang, Qinpeng Liao, Zhang Lin
Abstract
The natural frozen environment, called the cryosphere, is an essential component of the Earth’s environment. Although traditional knowledge considered that chemical reactions are limited in such environments due to the low temperature, it has been proved that some environment-related reactions could be accelerated by 2 to 105 times during freezing. Therefore, various interactions are also supposed to occur within the cryospheric system, which may affect the final fate of environmental substances on Earth. An in-depth understanding of these freeze-accelerated reactions is essential for geochemical cycle research and environmental protection. In this review, we summarize the counterintuitive acceleration of specific chemical reactions in the frozen system, including the accelerating mechanism, the characteristic of the accelerating reactions, and the corresponding influence on the natural environment. It can be seen that the study of freeze-accelerated reactions is still in its infancy. Therefore, more in-depth investigations through interdisciplinary and extended collaborations are vital in future studies.