Secondary Structure in Enzyme-Inspired Polymer Catalysts Impacts Water Oxidation Efficiency.

ABSTRACT: Protein structure plays an essential role on their stability, functionality, and catalytic activity. In this work, the interplay between the β-sheet structure and its catalytic implications to the design of enzyme-inspired materials is investigated. Here, inspiration is drawn from the active sites and β-sheet rich structure of the highly efficient multicopper oxidase (MCO) to engineer a bio-inspired electrocatalyst for water oxidation utilizing the abundant metal, copper. Copper ions are coordinated to poly-histidine (polyCuHis), as they are in MCO active sites. The resultant polyCuHis material effectively promotes water oxidation with low overpotentials (0.15 V) in alkaline systems. This activity is due to the 3D structure of the poly-histidine backbone. By increasing the prevalence of β-

SUBMITTER: Sedenho GC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11220705 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature