A Functional [NiFe]Hydrogenase Mimic That Catalyzes Electron and Hydride Transfer from H 2

Abstract

Mimicking Hydrogenase Hydrogenase enzymes possess unusual bimetallic active sites that cleave H 2 . The enzymes make use of abundant metals (iron and sometimes nickel), in contrast to the often expensive synthetic catalysts that rely on rarer elements such as ruthenium or platinum. Ogo et al. (p. 682 ; see the Perspective by Armstrong ) now report a bimetallic coordination compound of iron and nickel that can catalyze electron and hydride transfers from H 2 in a manner analogous to the corresponding enzyme and characterize the structure of an intermediate with bound hydride.