Mimicking the Catalytic Center for the Water-Splitting Reaction in Photosystem II

• Main Authors: Yanxi Li, Ruoqing Yao, Yang Chen, Boran Xu, Changhui Chen, Chunxi Zhang
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-02-01
• Series: Catalysts
• Subjects: photosystem ii; water-splitting reaction; natural mn₄cao₅-cluster; artificial mn₄cao₄-cluster
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4344/10/2/185

The oxygen-evolving center (OEC) in photosystem II (PSII) of plants, algae and cyanobacteria is a unique natural catalyst that splits water into electrons, protons and dioxygen. The crystallographic studies of PSII have revealed that the OEC is an asymmetric Mn₄CaO₅-cluster. The understanding of the structure-function relationship of this natural Mn₄CaO₅-cluster is impeded mainly due to the complexity of the protein environment and lack of a rational chemical model as a reference. Although it has been a great challenge for chemists to synthesize the OEC in the laboratory, significant advances have been achieved recently. Different artificial complexes have been reported, especially a series of artificial Mn₄CaO₄-clusters that closely mimic both the geometric and electronic structures of the OEC in PSII, which provides a structurally well-defined chemical model to investigate the structure-function relationship of the natural Mn₄CaO₅-cluster. The deep investigations on this artificial Mn₄CaO₄-cluster could provide new insights into the mechanism of the water-splitting reaction in natural photosynthesis and may help the development of efficient catalysts for the water-splitting reaction in artificial photosynthesis.