Understanding how life’s building blocks emerged from an inert planetary inventory remains a grand challenge in chemistry. Most prebiotic models rely on reactive, exogenous precursors (e.g., HCN), sidestepping the fundamental problem of activating stable molecules like N2 and CO2. We introduce a novel plasma (air gap) electrochemical platform that mimics high-energy planetary phenomena (e.g., lightning, radiolysis) to drive the continuous, in situ activation of abundant resources.
We demonstrate the versatility of this high-voltage radical chemistry in driving diverse bond-forming reactions fundamental to biology. Moving beyond simple fixation, we map reaction networks that form critical C–N and C=N bonds (yielding amino acids and nucleobase precursors) from C1 and N1 feedstocks. Furthermore, we extend this platform to phosphorus activation, exploring the formation of C–O–P bonds essential for nucleotides and RNA motifs. Finally, we present pathways for the plasma-induced condensation of monomers into peptide linkages. This work establishes a unified, experimentally grounded model for the transition from inert chemicals to functional biopolymers.