Synthetic Inorganic Chemistry Related to the Nitrogenase Cofactor: Core Heteroligated Fe-S-X Cubanes and Higher Nuclearity Clusters

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

The biological conversion of atmospheric nitrogen to ammonia is essential to life on Earth. The reaction is difficult to accomplish -- the equivalent industrial chemistry requires high temperatures and pressures to perform the conversion. Microbes use the nitrogenase enzyme system to achieve this reaction under mild, ambient conditions. At the heart of the enzyme is a cluster of iron, sulfur, molybdenum, and carbon atoms termed the iron-molybdenum cofactor that carries out this chemistry. How it does so is very much a mystery.****Our research program attempts to define the chemistry associated with the cofactor. We study small, accessible molecules that mimic key aspects of the cluster. By understanding the behavior of these models, we hope to shed light on the workings of the cofactor. Knowledge gained from our studies is important not only with respect to the fundamental understanding of a critical biochemical process, but also for the development of new reactions useful to the chemical and pharmaceutical industries.**