Development of bioinspired Mn4O4-Cubane water oxidation catalysts: lessons from photosynthesis
RIS ID
31843
Abstract
Hydrogen is the most promising fuel of the future owing to its carbon-free, high-energy content and potential to be efficiently converted into either electrical or thermal energy. The greatest technical barrier to accessing this renewable resource remains the inability to create inexpensive catalysts for the solar-driven oxidation of water. To date, the most efficient system that uses solar energy to oxidize water is the photosystem II water-oxidizing complex (PSII-WOC), which is found within naturally occurring photosynthetic organisms. The catalytic core of this enzyme is a CaMn4Ox cluster, which is present in all known species of oxygenic phototrophs and has been conserved since the emergence of this type of photosynthesis about 2.5 billion years ago. The key features that facilitate the catalytic success of the PSII-WOC offer important lessons for the design of abiological water oxidation catalysts.
In this Account, we examine the chemical principles that may govern the PSII-WOC by comparing the water oxidation capabilities of structurally related synthetic manganese-oxo complexes, particularly those with a cubical Mn4O4 core (“cubanes”). We summarize this research, from the self-assembly of the first such clusters, through the elucidation of their mechanism of photoinduced rearrangement to release O2, to recent advances highlighting their capability to catalyze sustained light-activated electrolysis of water.
Publication Details
Dismukes, C., Brimblecombe, R., Felton, G., Pryadun, R. S., Spiccia, L., Sheats, J. E. & Swiegers, G. F. (2009). Development of bioinspired Mn4O4-Cubane water oxidation catalysts: lessons from photosynthesis. Accounts of Chemical Research, 42 (12), 1935-1943.