Cells use pH gradients to drive the synthesis of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), but the physicochemical mechanisms that can produce pH gradients in non-equilibrium settings are poorly understood. The authors here theoretically and experimentally investigate the formation of a pH gradient in an acid-base reaction system, driven by a heat flow, providing insights on how crude non-equilibrium systems can feed chemical gradients exploitable by life.
- Thomas Matreux
- Bernhard Altaner
- Ulrich Gerland
