Popis: |
Recently, Nocera and coworkers claim that an “artificial leaf” – able to harvest up to 4.7% of incident photonic energy to split water and produce fuels using only Earth abundant elements – has been produced with much of its design inspired by photosynthetic elements [1] . In this short review, we compare the structure and function of the cobalt-based water oxidation center of the artificial leaf with what is known about the manganese-based oxygen-evolving complex (OEC) of photosystem II (PSII). The geometric structure, proposed oxidation state topology, and putative mechanism of water oxidation for the respective catalytic sites are discussed. |