Water Chemistry at the Nanoscale: Clues for Resolving the “Water Paradox” Underlying the Emergence of Life

Water is the most common, yet highly peculiar, liquid on Earth. Biological systems manipulate the properties of water to perform reactions that are extremely difficult in synthetic chemistry. One such example is polymerization, which is essential for life and requires the removal of water; however, the removal of water adversely affects the redox reactions that harness the free energy to sustain life. This dichotomy in the water chemistry of life is referred to as the “water paradox”, which remains an unsolved puzzle in the origins of life research. In the present concept paper, we propose that the water paradox may be resolved if anomalous water behavior, including the extremely low dielectric constant and modulation of the enthalpy-entropy compensation relationship arising from nanoscale confinement, are considered. The unique properties of confined water allow for polymerization reactions to proceed even in water-rich hydrothermal vent (HV) environments due to the structurally aligned nanopores within HV walls. Studies of how structural changes in water networks in nano-spaces affect catalysis and free energy exchange represent the next frontier in the field of origins of life research and synthetic chemistry.