Lisa M. Utschig

Nature-Driven Photochemistry for Catalytic Solar Hydrogen Production: A Photosystem I–Transition Metal Catalyst Hybrid

Solar energy conversion of water into the environmentally clean fuel hydrogen offers one of the best long-term solutions for meeting future energy demands. Nature provides highly evolved, finely tuned molecular machinery for solar energy conversion that exquisitely manages photon capture and conversion processes to drive oxygenic water-splitting and carbon fixation. Herein, we use one of Natures specialized energy-converters, the Photosystem I (PSI) protein, to drive hydrogen production from a synthetic molecular catalyst comprised of inexpensive, earth-abundant materials. PSI and a cobaloxime catalyst self-assemble, and the resultant complex rapidly produces hydrogen in aqueous solution upon exposure to visible light. This work establishes a strategy for enhancing photosynthetic efficiency for solar fuel production by augmenting natural photosynthetic systems with synthetically tunable abiotic catalysts.

Protein Delivery of a Ni Catalyst to Photosystem I for Light-Driven Hydrogen Production

The direct conversion of sunlight into fuel is a promising means for the production of storable renewable energy. Herein, we use Natures specialized photosynthetic machinery found in the Photosystem I (PSI) protein to drive solar fuel production from a nickel diphosphine molecular catalyst. Upon exposure to visible light, a self-assembled PSI-[Ni(P2(Ph)N2(Ph))2](BF4)2 hybrid generates H2 at a rate 2 orders of magnitude greater than rates reported for photosensitizer/[Ni(P2(Ph)N2(Ph))2](BF4)2 systems. The protein environment enables photocatalysis at pH 6.3 in completely aqueous conditions. In addition, we have developed a strategy for incorporating the Ni molecular catalyst with the native acceptor protein of PSI, flavodoxin. Photocatalysis experiments with this modified flavodoxin demonstrate a new mechanism for biohybrid creation that involves protein-directed delivery of a molecular catalyst to the reducing side of Photosystem I for light-driven catalysis. This work further establishes strategies for constructing functional, inexpensive, earth-abundant solar fuel-producing PSI hybrids that use light to rapidly produce hydrogen directly from water.

Light-driven hydrogen production from Photosystem I-catalyst hybrids

Solar energy conversion of water into environmentally clean fuels, such as hydrogen, offers one of the best long-term solutions for meeting future global energy needs. In photosynthesis, high quantum yield charge separation is achieved by a series of rapid, photoinitiated electron transfer steps that take place in proteins called reaction centers (RCs). Of current interest are new strategies that couple RC photochemistry to the direct synthesis of energy-rich molecules, offering opportunities to more directly tune the products of photosynthesis and potentially to increase solar energy conversion capacity. Innovative designs link RC photochemistry with synthetic molecular catalysts to create earth abundant biohybrid complexes that use light to rapidly produce hydrogen from water.

Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Study of Radiation Damage in Photosynthetic Reaction Center Crystals

Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) was used to simultaneously study radiation-induced cofactor reduction and damaging radical formation in single crystals of the bacterial reaction center (RC). Crystals of Fe-removed/Zn-replaced RC protein from Rhodobacter ( R.) sphaeroides R26 were irradiated with varied radiation doses at cryogenic temperature and analyzed for radiation-induced free radical formation and alteration of light-induced photosynthetic electron transfer activity using high-field (HF) D-band (130 GHz) and X-band (9.5 GHz) EPR spectroscopies. These analyses show that the formation of radiation-induced free radicals saturated at doses 1 order of magnitude smaller than the amount of radiation at which protein crystals lose their diffraction quality, while light-induced RC activity was found to be lost at radiation doses at least 1 order of magnitude lower than the dose at which radiation-induced radicals exhibited saturation. HF D-band EPR spectra provide direct evidence for radiation-induced reduction of the quinones and possibly other cofactors. These results demonstrate that substantial radiation damage is likely to have occurred during X-ray diffraction data collection used for photosynthetic RC structure determination. Thus, both radiation-induced loss of photochemical activity in RC crystals and reduction of the quinones are important factors that must be considered when correlating spectroscopic and crystallographic measurements of quinone site structures.

High-frequency EPR approach to the electron spin-polarization effects observed in the photosynthetic reaction centers

Time-resolved high-frequency electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy was applied to study the structure and dynamics of the electron transfer pathways in the photosynthetic RC proteins. When the spin-polarized EPR spectra are recorded at the high field, the singlet-triplet mixing in the radical pairs becomes faster due to the increase of Zeeman interaction, and a sequential electron transfer polarization model, which includes both the primary and secondary radical pairs, should be considered. Application of the sequential electron transfer polarization model for the interpretation of the bacterial RC proteins with a “slow” electron transfer rate reveals the importance of the protein dynamics. It was shown that the reorganization energy for the electron transfer process between P865+H−QA and P865+HQA−, but not the change in the structure of the donor-acceptor complex, is a dominant factor that alters the electron transfer rate. The relaxation data, obtained in the delay after laser flash experiment, have been used to estimate the magnetic interaction in the weakly coupled radical pair. High-frequency spin-polarized EPR spectra allow the quantitative characterization of isotopically labeled quinone exchange in the PS I reaction center proteins.

Discovery of native metal ion sites located on the ferredoxin docking side of photosystem I

Photosystem I (PSI) is a large membrane protein that catalyzes light-driven electron transfer across the thylakoid membrane from plastocyanin located in the lumen to ferredoxin in the stroma. Metal analysis reveals that PSI isolated from the cyanobacterial membranes of Synechococcus leopoliensishas a near-stoichiometric 1 molar equiv of Zn (2+) per PSI monomer and two additional surface metal ion sites that favor Cu (2+) binding. Two-dimensional hyperfine sublevel correlation (HYSCORE) spectroscopy reveals coupling to the so-called remote nitrogen of a single histidine coordinated to one of the Cu (2+) centers. EPR and X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) studies of 2Cu-PSI complexes reveal the direct interaction of ferredoxin with the Cu (2+) centers on PSI, establishing the location of native metal sites on the ferredoxin docking side of PSI. On the basis of these spectroscopic results and previously reported site-directed mutagenesis studies, inspection of the PSI crystal structure reveals a cluster of three highly conserved residues, His(D95), Glu(D103), and Asp(C23), as a likely Cu (2+) binding site. The discovery of surface metal sites on the acceptor side of PSI provides a unique opportunity to probe the stromal region of PSI and the interactions of PSI with its reaction partner, the soluble electron carrier protein ferredoxin.

Spin-dynamics of the spin-correlated radical pair in photosystem I. Pulsed time-resolved EPR at high magnetic field.

Spin-dynamics of the spin-correlated radical pair (SCRP) P(700)(+)A(1A)(-) in the photosystem I (PSI) reaction center protein have been investigated with high-frequency (HF), time-resolved EPR spectroscopy. The superior spectral resolution of HF EPR enables spin-dynamics for both the donor and acceptor radicals in the pair to be monitored independently. Decay constants of each spin were measured as a function of temperature and compared to data obtained at X-band EPR. Relaxation times, T(1), and decay rates, k(S), are the same at both X- and D-band magnetic fields. The spin-dynamics within the radical pair were determined from theoretical simulation of experimental time-resolved HF EPR spectra. At low temperatures, T < 60 K, the decay of the SCRP from the singlet state, k(S), is the predominant process, while at high temperatures, T > 130 K, the T(1) relaxation is much faster than k(S). The recombination rate k(S) was observed to decrease as the temperature is increased. These EPR spectral results are in agreement with previously reported optical measurements of P(700)(+)A(1)(-) radical pair recombination.

Correlating ultrafast function with structure in single crystals of the photosynthetic reaction center.

Femtosecond transient absorbance spectroscopy was applied to the study of primary electron transfer in single reaction center crystals from Rhodobacter sphaeroides. Polarized transient absorption spectra of individual crystals are shown to correlate with polarized ground-state absorption spectra and to track cofactor transition moment directions calculated from the crystallographic structure. Electron transfer from the bacteriochlorophyll dimer to the bacteriopheophytin acceptor was found to be multiphasic in crystals and approximately 2-fold slower than in solution. This work demonstrates the ability to resolve ultrafast photosynthetic function in single crystals and allows ultrafast function to be directly correlated with structure.

Exploring hyperfine interactions in spin-correlated radical pairs from photosynthetic proteins: High-frequency ENDOR and quantum beat oscillations

Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and related spectroscopic tools remain among the most important probes of structure and function of natural photosynthetic systems. Indeed, the challenging questions in the study of photosynthesis have to a great extent dictated the directions taken in the development of EPR and associated spectroscopies. In this overview we demonstrate, with recent examples from our laboratories, the potential of high-frequency and time-resolved EPR spectroscopy to reveal unique information about electron transfer processes and the structure of photosynthetic systems. A common feature of these experiments is that they probe hyperfine interactions of the spincorrelated radical pair. Thus, the analysis of the results requires consideration of three interacting spins: two correlated electron spins with one nuclear spin. The results illustrate the importance of resolving nuclear hyperfine structure for obtaining details of structure-function relationships in photosynthetic electron transfer.

Light-Induced Alteration of Low-Temperature Interprotein Electron Transfer between Photosystem I and Flavodoxin

Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) was used to study light-induced electron transfer in Photosystem I-flavodoxin complexes. Deuteration of flavodoxin enables the signals of the reduced flavin acceptor and oxidized primary donor, P(700)(+), to be well-resolved at X- and D-band EPR. In dark-adapted samples, photoinitiated interprotein electron transfer does not occur at 5 K. However, for samples prepared in dim light, significant interprotein electron transfer occurs at 5 K and a concomitant loss of the spin-correlated radical pair P(+)A(1A)(-) signal is observed. These results indicate a light-induced reorientation of flavodoxin in the PSI docking site that allows a high quantum yield efficiency for the interprotein electron transfer reaction.