Nature Chemistry
Nature Chemistry
5 years ago

Structural and functional synthetic model of mono-iron hydrogenase featuring an anthracene scaffold

Structural and functional synthetic model of mono-iron hydrogenase featuring an anthracene scaffold
Junhyeok Seo, Michael J. Rose, Taylor A. Manes
Mono-iron hydrogenase was the third type of hydrogenase discovered. Its Lewis acidic iron(II) centre promotes the heterolytic cleavage of the H–H bond and this non-redox H2 activation distinguishes it from the well-studied dinuclear [FeFe] and [NiFe] hydrogenases. Cleavage of the H–H bond is followed by hydride transfer to the enzyme's organic substrate, H4MPT+, which serves as a CO2 ‘carrier’ in methanogenic pathways. Here we report a scaffold-based synthetic approach by which to model mono-iron hydrogenase using an anthracene framework, which supports a biomimetic fac-C,N,S coordination motif to an iron(II) centre. This arrangement includes the biomimetic and organometallic Fe–C σ bond, which enables bidirectional activity reminiscent of the native enzyme: the complex activates H2 under mild conditions, and catalyses C–H hydride abstraction plus H2 generation from a model substrate. Notably, neither H2 activation nor C–H hydride abstraction was observed in the analogous complex with a pincer-type mer-C,N,S ligation, emphasizing the importance of the fac-C,N,S-iron(II) motif in promoting enzyme-like reactivity.

Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nchem.2707

DOI: 10.1038/nchem.2707

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