A Chiral Ligand Assembly That Confers One-Electron O2 Reduction Activity for a Cu2+-Selective Metallohydrogel

The design of functional metallohydrogels is attractive but challenging. A rational approach is introduced for designing functional metallohydrogels using chiral ligands, a phenylalanine derivative with a pyridyl group (l/d-PF). Intriguingly, the as-prepared metallohydrogel exhibits excellent O-2 binding and activating properties. Insights into the O-2 binding pathway reveals the presence of a novel [(l+d)-PF-Cu3+-O-2(-)] species, which can efficiently reduce ferric cytochromec with the reactive O-2(-) by receiving an electron from reductant ascorbic acid. This study provides helpful instructions for developing new artificial systems with specific functions through the effective combination of chiral ligands with metal ions.