title: A bioinspired construct that mimics the proton coupled electron transfer between P680*+ and the Tyr(Z)-His190 pair of photosystem II.
abstract: A bioinspired hybrid system, composed of colloidal TiO2 nanoparticles surface modified with a photochemically active mimic of the PSII chlorophyll-Tyr-His complex, undergoes photoinduced stepwise electron transfer coupled to proton motion at the phenolic site. Low temperature electron paramagnetic resonance studies reveal that injected electrons are localized on TiO2 nanoparticles following photoexcitation. At 80 K, 95% of the resulting holes are localized on the phenol moiety and 5% are localized on the porphyrin. At 4.2 K, 52% of the holes remain trapped on the porphyrin. The anisotropic coupling tensors of the phenoxyl radical are resolved in the photoinduced D-band EPR spectra and are in good agreement with previously reported g-tensors of tyrosine radicals in photosystem II. The observed temperature dependence of the charge shift is attributed to restricted nuclear motion at low temperature and is reminiscent of the observation of a trapped high-energy state in the natural system. Electrochemical studies show that the phenoxyl/phenol couple of the model system is chemically reversible and thermodynamically capable of water oxidation.
authors.affiliation: Center for Bioenergy and Photosynthesis, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona 85287-1604, USA.
authors.forename: Gary F
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hambourger
authors.forename: Miguel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gervaldo
authors.forename: Oleg G
authors.initials: OG
authors.lastname: Poluektov
authors.forename: Tijana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Rajh
authors.forename: Devens
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gust
authors.forename: Thomas A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.forename: Ana L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Moore
mesh_terms: D002734:Chlorophyll / Q000737:chemistry*; D004578:Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy; D004579:Electron Transport; D006639:Histidine / Q000737:chemistry; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D010777:Photochemistry; D045332:Photosystem II Protein Complex / Q000737:chemistry*; D011522:Protons; D013696:Temperature; D014025:Titanium / Q000737:chemistry*; D014443:Tyrosine / Q000737:chemistry; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D045332:Photosystem II Protein Complex; D011522:Protons; D014867:Water; D002734:Chlorophyll; C009495:titanium dioxide; D014443:Tyrosine; D006639:Histidine; D014025:Titanium