It is of particular interest to mimic the process of intramolecular electron relay at the active site of [FeFe]-hydrogenase in order to understand the mechanism of the catalytic activity of H(2) evolution. We have recently focused on using the native CXXCH peptide sequence of the C-terminal segment of cytochrome c(556) as a platform which holds a diiron carbonyl cluster via two cysteines and have attached a ruthenium photosensitizer via a histidine. The modified peptide with the two metal moieties is found to act as the photocatalyst for H(2) evolution with a turnover number of ~9 over 2h at pH 8.5 in the presence of ascorbate as a sacrificial reagent.
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