Photosystem II (PSII) uses light energy to split water into protons, electrons and O2 (1). In this reaction, Nature has solved the difficult chemical problem of efficient four-electron oxidation of water to yield O2 without significant side reactions. In order to use Nature’s solution for the design of materials that split water for solar fuel production, it is important to understand the mechanism of the reaction. X-ray crystal structures of cyanobacterial PSII provide information on the structure of the Mn and Ca ions, the redox-active tyrosine called YZ, and the surrounding amino acids that comprise the O2-evolving complex (OEC). We have used computational studies to refine the structure of the OEC and obtain a complete structural model of the OEC that is in agreement with spectroscopic data (2). Insights from studies of the natural photosynthetic system are being applied to develop bioinspired materials for photochemical water oxidation and fuel production. Our progress on the development of synthetic water-oxidation catalysts (3-4) and their use in materials for artificial photosynthesis will be discussed (5-6).
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3. J.D. Blakemore, N.D. Schley et al., Chem. Sci. (2011) 2, 94.
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5. G.F. Moore et al., Energy Environ. Sci. (2011) 4, 2389.
6. G.F. Moore et al., J. Phys. Chem. C (2012) 116, 4892.