An active site of unique Cu4(μ4-S) inorganic core in Nitrous Oxide Reductase (N2OR) catalyzes the 2e-, 2H+ reduction of N2O to N2 and H2O through possible redox intermediates, primarily characterized by spectroscopic techniques. Assembly of Cu4(μ4-S) model structures as study tools is challenging as they decompose to thermodynamically stable Cu2S in the absence of adequate steric and ideal electronic features. Constructing an ideal ligand environment is not only important for stabilizing a Cu4(μ4-S) cluster but also crucial for the redox activity of the resultant active sites. Additionally, secondary structure effects are known to be important to enzymatic activity and are important to incorporate into synthetic model designs. It has been reported that the phosphine donors are capable of stabilizing [Cu(I)]4(μ4-S) clusters, competing the decomposition to Cu2S. However, the resulting structural models are redox innocent and provide no reactivity towards N2O. These model systems may lack of various factors like coordinatively unsaturated or reactive Cu ions and secondary sphere hydrogen-bonding interactions that trigger the binding of N2O and maintain the structural integrity during the reduction. Our attempt is to fill these gaps with logically designed ligand systems bearing different donor atoms and various residual substituents that could resemble a similar environment as the real active site. So far, our ligand systems are proving to be promising in mimicking the natural conditions required for the stability and the activity of the active site, and recent progress will be discussed in this presentation.

Impact of ligands and secondary structure effects on the stability, redox activity, and N2O reduction activity of Cu4(μ4-S) clusters: Model compounds of the active site of nitrous oxide reductase (N2OR)

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

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ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.