Focusing the view on nature's water-splitting catalyst.
Nature invented a catalyst about 3Gyr ago, which splits water with high efficiency into molecular oxygen and hydrogen equivalents (protons and electrons). This reaction is energetically driven by sunlight and the active centre contains relatively cheap and abundant metals: manganese and calcium. This biological system therefore forms the paradigm for all man-made attempts for direct solar fuel production, and several studies are underway to determine the electronic and geometric structures of this catalyst. In this report we briefly summarize the problems and the current status of these efforts and propose a density functional theory-based strategy for obtaining a reliable high-resolution structure of this unique catalyst that includes both the inorganic core and the first ligand sphere.
Zein
Samir
S
Max-Planck-Institut für Bioanorganische Chemie, Stiftstrasse 34-36, 45470 Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany.
Kulik
Leonid V
LV
Yano
Junko
J
Kern
Jan
J
Pushkar
Yulia
Y
Zouni
Athina
A
Yachandra
Vittal K
VK
Lubitz
Wolfgang
W
Neese
Frank
F
Messinger
Johannes
J
D002384:Catalysis; D004578:Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy; D008024:Ligands; D008958:Models, Molecular; D045332:Photosystem II Protein Complex / Q000737:chemistry*; D011789:Quantum Theory; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry*
D008024:Ligands; D045332:Photosystem II Protein Complex; D014867:Water