Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Rhiannon M. Evans, Natalie Krahn, Bonnie J. Murphy, Harrison Lee, Fraser A. Armstrong, Dieter Soll
Summary: The study investigates the impact of substituting cysteine with selenocysteine on the function of [NiFe]-hydrogenases, revealing that while the activity of the enzymes is reduced after substitution, variants with selenocysteine show significant differences in O-2 tolerance and electrocatalytic properties.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Michael G. Allan, Thomas Pichon, Jade A. McCune, Christine Cavazza, Alan Le Goff, Moritz F. Kuhnel
Summary: This work demonstrates the performance of [NiFeSe] hydrogenase from Desulfomicrobium baculatum for solar-driven hydrogen generation in a variety of organic-based deep eutectic solvents. It shows that the hydrogenase exhibits remarkable performance under aerobic conditions in these solvents when paired with a TiO2 photocatalyst. The tuning of water content further enhances hydrogen evolution activity and quantum yield. Contrary to common belief, these findings suggest that placing natural hydrogenases in non-natural environments can enhance their intrinsic activity, opening possibilities for full water splitting using hydrogenases.
ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE-INTERNATIONAL EDITION
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Hui-Jie Pan, Gangfeng Huang, Matthew D. Wodrich, Farzaneh Fadaei Tirani, Kenichi Ataka, Seigo Shima, Xile Hu
Summary: The study discusses the reconstitution of [Mn]-hydrogenases using Mn-I complexes, highlighting the importance of internal base or pro-base in catalysis. The results confirm the essential role of metal-ligand cooperation for H-2 activation and indicate differences in the mode of cooperation between active [Mn]-hydrogenases and native [Fe]-hydrogenase. This work demonstrates the possibility of reconstituting active artificial hydrogenases using synthetic complexes.
ANGEWANDTE CHEMIE-INTERNATIONAL EDITION
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Claudia Brocks, Chandan K. Das, Jifu Duan, Shanika Yadav, Ulf-Peter Apfel, Subhasri Ghosh, Eckhard Hofmann, Martin Winkler, Vera Engelbrecht, Lars V. Schaefer, Thomas Happe
Summary: This study proposes a new strategy to improve the O-2 stability of [FeFe]-hydrogenases by blocking the O-2 diffusion pathway and protecting the catalytic cofactor.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Sara Lupacchini, Jens Appel, Ron Stauder, Paul Bolay, Stephan Klaehn, Elisabeth Lettau, Lorenz Adrian, Lars Lauterbach, Bruno Buehler, Andreas Schmid, Joerg Toepel
Summary: This study successfully addressed the challenge of oxygen release during photosynthesis-driven H-2 production by introducing an oxygen-tolerant hydrogenase into cyanobacteria. The hydrogenase enabled the bacteria to utilize H-2 to fix CO2 and produce H-2 under different conditions, laying a foundation for further engineering advancements.
METABOLIC ENGINEERING
(2021)
Article
Electrochemistry
Yuanming Wang, Yunhong Song, Chunling Ma, Hong-qi Xia, Ranran Wu, Zhiguang Zhu
Summary: In this study, researchers demonstrated the different biological and electrochemical properties of hydrogenase by constructing and immobilizing truncated hydrogenases on electrodes. Analysis of the characteristics of truncated hydrogenases revealed different activities in H-2 oxidation, with the dimer showing significant oxidation current.
ELECTROCHIMICA ACTA
(2021)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Jaehyun Cha, Hyeonseon Bak, Inchan Kwon
Summary: Researchers have discovered a pair of oxygen-tolerant enzymes that can convert hydrogen and carbon dioxide gases into formate, overcoming the issue of enzyme damage caused by the presence of oxygen in the cheap sources.
FRONTIERS IN BIOENGINEERING AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Fei Xiao, Yu-Cheng Wang, Zhi-Peng Wu, Guangyu Chen, Fei Yang, Shangqian Zhu, Kumar Siddharth, Zhijie Kong, Aolin Lu, Jin-Cheng Li, Chuan-Jian Zhong, Zhi-You Zhou, Minhua Shao
Summary: The article summarizes the current development status of PEMFCs and AMFCs, including electrocatalyst design, catalyst layer optimization, and cell performance. It discusses and compares the activity, stability, and fuel cell performance of different types of electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction and hydrogen oxidation reactions, while also exploring research directions for further development.
ADVANCED MATERIALS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Rui Chen, Tie Shu, Fengling Zhao, Yongfei Li, Xiaotong Yang, Jingwei Li, Daliang Zhang, Li-Yong Gan, Ke Xin Yao, Qiang Yuan
Summary: This study successfully constructed novel PtCu3@PWOx nanocomposites with excellent mass activity for ORR, which shows great potential for practical applications.
Article
Thermodynamics
Daijun Yang, Yilin Lan, Tiankuo Chu, Bing Li, Pingwen Ming, Cunman Zhang, Xiangyang Zhou
Summary: Intermittent oxygen starvation (IOS), a new in situ activation approach, shows faster activation speed and lower hydrogen consumption compared to load cycling activation (LCA) in newly manufactured proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) stacks. After IOS activation, catalyst particles are more exposed to the catalyst surface and evenly dispersed within ionomers, which helps the formation of catalyst-ionomer-reactant three phase region (TPR).
Editorial Material
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Stefan Frielingsdorf
Summary: Despite its scarcity, H-2 in the atmosphere can still serve as an energy source for certain prokaryotes. In a recent study, Grinter, Kropp, et al. elucidated the structure, biochemistry, electrochemistry, and spectroscopy of a [NiFe]-hydrogenase catalyst, which has an extremely high affinity for H-2 and enables energy extraction from ambient air.
TRENDS IN BIOCHEMICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Yue Wang, Changsong Cui, Yongcheng Tong, Shiwei Wang, Ranran Peng, Chusheng Chen, Zhongliang Zhan
Summary: Ceria is an excellent oxide catalyst for breaking down H2 without noble metals, and doping with lanthanide ions can effectively regulate the catalytic activities of ceria nanorods. Among the tested compositions, Ce0.8Sm0.2O2-$ exhibits the highest catalytic activity. Surface reducibility, availability of oxygen vacancies, and bonded hydroxyls are key factors determining the catalytic performance of lanthanide-doped ceria nanorods in low-temperature solid oxide fuel cells.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HYDROGEN ENERGY
(2021)
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Xin-Yuan Hu, Jia-Jing Li, Zi-Wei Yang, Jun Zhang, Huai-Song Wang
Summary: A [FeFe]-hydrogenase mimic capable of catalytic hydrogen generation was synthesized by self-assembling a polymeric plur-onic F-127 with catalytic [Fe2S2] sites and photosensitizer Ru(bpy)32+. The generated H2 was used as an antioxidant to decrease reactive oxygen species levels in living cells, leading to improved cell proliferation.
JOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICAL ANALYSIS
(2022)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Vladislav Sadykov, Elena Pikalova, Ekaterina Sadovskaya, Anna Shlyakhtina, Elena Filonova, Nikita Eremeev
Summary: Oxygen and hydrogen mobility are important characteristics for the operation of electrochemical devices, and this work focuses on studying the diffusion of mixed ionic-electronic conducting materials and its role in device performance. The main laws of bulk diffusion and surface exchange are highlighted, and isotope exchange techniques are used to study these processes in detail. Ionic transport properties of various conventional and state-of-the-art materials are reviewed.
Article
Chemistry, Physical
Rohan Kumar, K. A. Subramanian
Summary: This paper investigates the effects of oxygen-enriched air, along with other operating parameters, on the performance of a hydrogen-fuelled proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell. The results show that 45% oxygen enrichment is optimal, and the stack temperature plays a significant role in performance improvement. The voltage efficiency and power output are improved with 45% oxygen-enriched air. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy reveals the impedance behavior of the fuel cell under variable current demand.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HYDROGEN ENERGY
(2023)