Synthetic chemistry: Making a natural fuel cell

The synthetic assembly of the active centre of hydrogen-producing enzymes adds to our understanding of their structure and function — and could produce new and useful materials that mimic these enzymes.
A host of microbes metabolize hydrogen with high efficiency by using enzymes known as hydrogenases1. These enzymes are exquisite miniature hydrogen fuel cells, and are based on a combination of sulphur and iron atoms, and sometimes a single nickel atom2. On page 610 of this issue, Tard et al. (Pickett and colleagues)3 demonstrate that a close analogue of the active site of all-iron hydrogenase can be synthesized in the laboratory, and that it can produce hydrogen in an electrochemical cell, given a supply of protons and electrons.

Fuel Cell Works