The metal-sulphur active sites of hydrogenases catalyse hydrogen evolution or uptake at rapid rates. Understanding the structure and function of these active sites--through mechanistic studies of hydrogenases, synthetic assemblies and in silico models--will help guide the design of new materials for hydrogen production or uptake. Here we report the assembly of the iron-sulphur framework of the active site of iron-only hydrogenase (the H-cluster), and show that it functions as an electrocatalyst for proton reduction. Through linking of a di-iron subsite to a {4Fe4S} cluster, we achieve the first synthesis of a metallosulphur cluster core involved in small-molecule catalysis. In addition to advancing our understanding of the natural biological system, the availability of an active, free-standing analogue of the H-cluster may enable us to develop useful electrocatalytic materials for application in, for example, reversible hydrogen fuel cells. (Platinum is currently the preferred electrocatalyst for such applications, but is expensive, limited in availability and, in the long term, unsustainable.).

Proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) is a fundamental process at the core of oxidation-reduction reactions for energy conversion. The [FeFe]-hydrogenases catalyze the reversible activation of molecular H2 through a unique metallocofactor, the H-cluster, which is finely tuned by the surrounding protein environment to undergo fast PCET transitions. The correlation of electronic and structural transitions at the H-cluster with proton-transfer (PT) steps has not been well-resolved experimentally. Here, we explore how modification of the conserved PT network via a Cys → Ser substitution at position 169 proximal to the H-cluster of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii [FeFe]-hydrogenase (CrHydA1) affects the H-cluster using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Despite a substantial decrease in catalytic activity, the EPR and FTIR spectra reveal different H-cluster catalytic states under reducing and oxidizing conditions. Under H2 or sodium dithionite reductive treatments, the EPR spectra show signals that are consistent with a reduced [4Fe-4S]H(+) subcluster. The FTIR spectra showed upshifts of νCO modes to energies that are consistent with an increase in oxidation state of the [2Fe]H subcluster, which was corroborated by DFT analysis. In contrast to the case for wild-type CrHydA1, spectra associated with Hred and Hsred states are less populated in the Cys → Ser variant, demonstrating that the exchange of -SH with -OH alters how the H-cluster equilibrates among different reduced states of the catalytic cycle under steady-state conditions.

Nature is a valuable source of inspiration in the design of catalysts, and various approaches are used to elucidate the mechanism of hydrogenases, the enzymes that oxidize or produce H2. In FeFe hydrogenases, H2 oxidation occurs at the H-cluster, and catalysis involves H2 binding on the vacant coordination site of an iron centre. Here, we show that the reversible oxidative inactivation of this enzyme results from the binding of H2 to coordination positions that are normally blocked by intrinsic CO ligands. This flexibility of the coordination sphere around the reactive iron centre confers on the enzyme the ability to avoid harmful reactions under oxidizing conditions, including exposure to O2. The versatile chemistry of the diiron cluster in the natural system might inspire the design of novel synthetic catalysts for H2 oxidation.

A comparative analysis of a series of DFT models of [NiFe]-hydrogenases, ranging from minimal NiFe clusters to very large systems including both the first and second coordination sphere of the bimetallic cofactor, was carried out with the aim of unraveling which stereoelectronic properties of the active site of [NiFe]-hydrogenases are crucial for efficient H2 binding and cleavage. H2 binding to the Ni-SIa redox state is energetically favored (by 4.0 kcal mol(-1)) only when H2 binds to Ni, the NiFe metal cluster is in a low spin state, and the Ni cysteine ligands have a peculiar seesaw coordination geometry, which in the enzyme is stabilized by the protein environment. The influence of the Ni coordination geometry on the H2 binding affinity was then quantitatively evaluated and rationalized analyzing frontier molecular orbitals and populations. Several plausible reaction pathways leading to H2 cleavage were also studied. It turned out that a two-step pathway, where H2 cleavage takes place on the Ni-SIa redox state of the enzyme, is characterized by very low reaction barriers and favorable reaction energies. More importantly, the seesaw coordination geometry of Ni was found to be a key feature for facile H2 cleavage. The discovery of the crucial influence of the Ni coordination geometry on H2 binding and activation in the active site of [NiFe]-hydrogenases could be exploited in the design of novel biomimetic synthetic catalysts.

Lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMOs) are Cu-containing enzymes that facilitate the degradation of recalcitrant polysaccharides by the oxidative cleavage of glycosidic bonds. They are gaining rapidly increasing attention as key players in biomass conversion, especially for the production of second-generation biofuels. Elucidation of the detailed mechanism of the LPMO reaction is a major step toward the assessment and optimization of LPMO efficacy in industrial biotechnology, paving the way to utilization of sustainable fuel sources. Here, we used density functional theory calculations to study the reaction pathways suggested to date, exploiting a very large active-site model for a fungal AA9 LPMO and using a celloheptaose unit as a substrate mimic. We identify a copper oxyl intermediate as being responsible for H-atom abstraction from the substrate, followed by a rapid, water-assisted hydroxyl rebound, leading to substrate hydroxylation.

This work describes the synthesis and characterisation by electronic absorption spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry and by a solvatochromic investigation of meso-tetraphenylporphyrins and their Zn II complexes substituted at the β pyrrolic position by a pseudo-linear, π-delocalised organic linker carrying either an electron-withdrawing (pull) or electron-donating (push) group. The second-order NLO response of these push-pull porphyrinic chromophores has been investigated by the EFISH technique working with a non-resonant

Fe-only hydrogenases are enzymes that catalyze dihydrogen production or oxidation, due to the presence of an unusual Fe(6)S(6) cluster (the so-called H-cluster) in their active site, which is composed of a Fe(2)S(2) subsite, directly involved in catalysis, and a classical Fe(4)S(4) cubane cluster. Here, we present a hybrid quantum mechanical and molecular mechanical (QM/MM) investigation of the Fe-only hydrogenase from Desulfovibrio desulfuricans, in order to unravel key issues regarding the activation of the enzyme from its completely oxidized inactive state (Hoxinact) and the influence of the protein environment on the structural and catalytic properties of the H-cluster. Our results show that the Fe(2)S(2) subcluster in the Fe(II)Fe(II) redox state - which is experimentally observed for the completely oxidized form of the enzyme - binds a water molecule to one of its metal centers. The computed QM/MM energy values for water binding to the diferrous subsite are in fact over 70 kJ mol(-1); however, the affinity toward water decreases by 1 order of magnitude after a one-electron reduction of H(ox)(inact), thus leading to the release of coordinated water from the H-cluster. The investigation of a catalytic cycle of the Fe-only hydrogenase that implies formation of a terminal hydride ion and a di(thiomethyl)amine (DTMA) molecule acting as an acid/base catalyst indicates that all steps have reasonable reaction energies and that the influence of the protein on the thermodynamic profile of H(2) production catalysis is not negligible. QM/MM results show that the interactions between the Fe(2)S(2) subsite and the protein environment could give place to structural rearrangements of the H-cluster functional for catalysis, provided that the bidentate ligand that bridges the iron atoms in the binuclear subsite is actually a DTMA residue.

Nature's recipe: A theoretical study analyzes how the environment of the [FeFe] hydrogenase's catalytic cofactor affects its chemical properties, particularly the relative stability of complexes with bridging and terminal hydride ligands (see picture; Fe teal, S yellow, C green, N blue, O red, H gray). The results help to elucidate key rules for the design of bioinspired synthetic catalysts for H(2) production.