PMRF Project

Development of structural and functional models to the Oxygen Evolving Complex in Photosystem-II

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Abstract : 

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With the rise in global energy demands and the consequences of extreme dependence on classical energy resources, there is an urgent need to look for greener and renewable resources. Photosystem-II (PS-II), which possesses Mn4CaO5 cluster in the active site, has an exceptional water splitting efficiency. Here, we propose the synthesis and spectroscopic characterization of MnIV/V(O)(µ-O)(LA) species (LA = Lewis acid) as the closest structural, if possible functional models to the active site of the oxygen-evolving complex in PS-II. We aim to understand the working reaction mechanism by characterizing the putative intermediates responsible for their excellent reactivity towards water oxidation, electron transfer, and oxygen atom transfer reactions. We believe that our results may help develop ideal, highly efficient artificial PS-II mimics capable of performing synthetically useful transformations.