Event

"Mini-enzymes for Hydrogen Production and Small Molecule Activation"

-In nature, energy storage and small-molecule activation reactions are catalyzed by enzymes that facilitate multi-electron, multi-proton reactions under aqueous conditions. Inspired by nature’s catalysts, we are employing simple metallopeptides and metalloporphyrin-peptide assemblies as catalysts of energy-relevant reactions. In this talk, the catalytic activity of these engineered mini-enzymes toward the reduction of aqueous protons to dihydrogen and of nitrite to hydroxylamine and ammonium will be described. These catalysts are notable for functioning in water near neutral pH in the presence of air and producing the desired products at high faradaic yields. The activation of these catalysts using both electrochemical and photochemical approaches will be described. Finally, ongoing efforts to elucidate catalytic mechanism with an emphasis on understanding proton delivery to the catalyst will be presented.