Solar Fuel Synthesis Using a Semiartificial Colloidal Z-Scheme.

The integration of enzymes with semiconductor light absorbers in semiartificial photosynthetic assemblies offers an emerging strategy for solar fuel production. However, such colloidal biohybrid systems rely currently on sacrificial reagents, and semiconductor-enzyme powder systems that couple fuel production to water oxidation are therefore needed to mimic an overall photosynthetic reaction. Here, we present a Z-scheme colloidal enzyme system that produces fuel with electrons sourced from water. This "closed-cycle" semiartificial approach utilizes particulate SrTiO3:La,Rh and BiVO4:Mo (light absorbers), hydrogenase or formate dehydrogenase (cocatalyst), and a molecular cobalt complex (a redox mediator). Under simulated solar irradiation, this system continuously generates molecular hydrogen or formate, while co-producing molecular oxygen for 10 h using only sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide as inputs. In-depth analysis using quartz crystal microbalance, photoelectrochemical impedance spectroscopy, transient photocurrent spectroscopy, and intensity-modulated photovoltage spectroscopy provides mechanistic understanding and characterization of the semiconductor-enzyme hybrid interface. This study provides a rational platform to assemble functional semiartificial colloidal Z-scheme systems for solar fuel synthesis.

Substrate-dependent oxidative inactivation of a W-dependent formate dehydrogenase involving selenocysteine displacement.

Metal-dependent formate dehydrogenases are very promising targets for enzyme optimization and design of bio-inspired catalysts for CO2 reduction, towards innovative strategies for climate change mitigation. For effective application of these enzymes, the catalytic mechanism must be better understood, and the molecular determinants clarified. Despite numerous studies, several doubts persist, namely regarding the role played by the possible dissociation of the SeCys ligand from the Mo/W active site. Additionally, the oxygen sensitivity of these enzymes must also be understood as it poses an important obstacle for biotechnological applications. This work presents a combined biochemical, spectroscopic, and structural characterization of Desulfovibrio vulgaris FdhAB (DvFdhAB) when exposed to oxygen in the presence of a substrate (formate or CO2). This study reveals that O2 inactivation is promoted by the presence of either substrate and involves forming a different species in the active site, captured in the crystal structures, where the SeCys ligand is displaced from tungsten coordination and replaced by a dioxygen or peroxide molecule. This form was reproducibly obtained and supports the conclusion that, although W-DvFdhAB can catalyse the oxidation of formate in the presence of oxygen for some minutes, it gets irreversibly inactivated after prolonged O2 exposure in the presence of either substrate.

Comproportionation of CO2 and Cellulose to Formate Using a Floating Semiconductor-Enzyme Photoreforming Catalyst.

Formate production via both CO2 reduction and cellulose oxidation in a solar-driven process is achieved by a semi-artificial biohybrid photocatalyst consisting of immobilized formate dehydrogenase on titanium dioxide (TiO2 |FDH) producing up to 1.16±0.04 mmolformate g TiO 2 ${{_{\ {\rm TiO}{_{2}}}}}$ -1 in 24 hours at 30 °C and 101 kPa under anaerobic conditions. Isotopic labeling experiments with 13 C-labeled substrates support the mechanism of stoichiometric formate formation through both redox half-reactions. TiO2 |FDH was further immobilized on hollow glass microspheres to perform more practical floating photoreforming allowing vertical solar light illumination with optimal light exposure of the photocatalyst to real sunlight. Enzymatic cellulose depolymerization coupled to the floating photoreforming catalyst generates 0.36±0.04 mmolformate per m2 irradiation area after 24 hours. This work demonstrates the synergistic solar-driven valorization of solid and gaseous waste streams using a biohybrid photoreforming catalyst in aqueous solution and will thus provide inspiration for the development of future semi-artificial waste-to-chemical conversion strategies.

Electrochemical Kinetics Support a Second Coordination Sphere Mechanism in Metal-Based Formate Dehydrogenase.

Metal-based formate dehydrogenases are molybdenum or tungsten-dependent enzymes that catalyze the interconversion between formate and CO2 . According to the current consensus, the metal ion of the catalytic center in its active form is coordinated by 6 S (or 5 S and 1 Se) atoms, leaving no free coordination sites to which formate could bind to the metal. Some authors have proposed that one of the active site ligands decoordinates during turnover to allow formate binding. Another proposal is that the oxidation of formate takes place in the second coordination sphere of the metal. Here, we have used electrochemical steady-state kinetics to elucidate the order of the steps in the catalytic cycle of two formate dehydrogenases. Our results strongly support the "second coordination sphere" hypothesis.

Engineering Electro- and Photocatalytic Carbon Materials for CO2 Reduction by Formate Dehydrogenase.

Semiartificial approaches to renewable fuel synthesis exploit the integration of enzymes with synthetic materials for kinetically efficient fuel production. Here, a CO2 reductase, formate dehydrogenase (FDH) from Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough, is interfaced with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and amorphous carbon dots (a-CDs). Each carbon substrate, tailored for electro- and photocatalysis, is functionalized with positive (-NHMe2+) and negative (-COO-) chemical surface groups to understand and optimize the electrostatic effect of protein association and orientation on CO2 reduction. Immobilization of FDH on positively charged CNT electrodes results in efficient and reversible electrochemical CO2 reduction via direct electron transfer with >90% Faradaic efficiency and -250 µA cm-2 at -0.6 V vs SHE (pH 6.7 and 25 °C) for formate production. In contrast, negatively charged CNTs only result in marginal currents with immobilized FDH. Quartz crystal microbalance analysis and attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy confirm the high binding affinity of active FDH to CNTs. FDH has subsequently been coupled to a-CDs, where the benefits of the positive charge (-NHMe2+-terminated a-CDs) were translated to a functional CD-FDH hybrid photocatalyst. High rates of photocatalytic CO2 reduction (turnover frequency: 3.5 × 103 h-1; AM 1.5G) with dl-dithiothreitol as the sacrificial electron donor were obtained after 6 h, providing benchmark rates for homogeneous photocatalytic CO2 reduction with metal-free light absorbers. This work provides a rational basis to understand interfacial surface/enzyme interactions at electrodes and photosensitizers to guide improvements with catalytic biohybrid materials.