Batch experiments of komatiite–H2O–CO2 system with temperatures from 200 to 450°C were performed to simulate the interactions between the newly formed ultramafic crust and the proto-atmosphere on Earth before the formation of its earliest ocean. Particularly, magnetite nanocrystals were observed in the experiment carried out at 450°C that are characterized by their hexagonal platelet-like morphology and porous structure. Exactly the same set of lattice fringes on the two opposite sides of one pore suggests post-crystallization erosion. The results demonstrate that magnetite could be produced by the direct interactions between the ultramafic rocky crust and the atmosphere before the formation of the ocean on the Hadean Earth. These magnetite nanoparticles could serve as a catalyst in the synthesis of simple organic molecules during the organochemical evolution towards life.

Chemical evolution at the primitive prebiotic level may have proceeded toward increased diversity and complexity by the adjacent possible process (originally proposed by Kauffman). Once primitive self-replicating systems evolved, they could continue evolution via Eigen's hypercycles, and by Prigogine's emergence of order at the far-from-the equilibrium, non-linear systems. We envisage a gradual transition from a complex pre-life system, which we call the transition zone. In this zone we find a mixture of complex chemical cycles that reproduce and secure energy. Small incremental changes in the structure and organization of the transition zone eventually lead to life. However, the chemical systems in this zone may or may not lead to life. It is possible that the transition to life might be the result of an algorithm. But, it is uncertain whether an algorithm could be applied to the systems in which chance plays a role.