Intermediate in the catalytic cycle of Photosystem II identified

CEC-research results on cover of the journal 'Chemical Science'

The most recent research contribution by scientists at our institute working on water oxidation was selected for the cover of the first 2016 issue of Chemical Science, the flagship journal of the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Using methods of theoretical chemistry and spectroscopy, researchers in the groups of <link internal-link internal link in current>Dr. Dimitrios Pantazis and <link internal-link internal link in current>Dr. Nicholas Cox managed to identify a previously unsuspected intermediate in the catalytic cycle of Photosystem II, the enzyme that splits water into oxygen and hydrogen in natural photosynthesis. This finding explains several spectroscopic observations that had puzzled researchers for many years and at the same time provides a refined understanding of the enzyme’s architecture and the mechanism it uses to regulate substrate water delivery to its active site.

This kind of structural and mechanistic information will be of great importance in understanding the finer details of biological photosynthesis, but may also serve as inspiration in the design of artificial water-splitting catalysts that could be used in the production of solar fuels.

Back