A series of NO-bound, iron-functionalized polyoxovanadate-alkoxide (FePOV-alkoxide) clusters have been synthesized, providing insight into the role of multimetallic constructs in the coordination and activation of a substrate. Upon exposure of the heterometallic cluster to NO, the vanadium-oxide metalloligand is oxidized by a single electron, shuttling the reducing equivalent to the {FeNO} subunit to form a {FeNO}⁷ species. Four NO-bound clusters with electronic distributions ranging from [VV3VIV2]{FeNO}⁷ to [VIV5]{FeNO}⁷ have been synthesized, and characterized via ¹H NMR, infrared, and electronic absorption spectroscopies. The ability of the FePOV-alkoxide cluster to store reducing equivalents in the metalloligand for substrate coordination and activation highlights the ultility of the metal-oxide scaffold as a redox reservoir.

Herein, we report a new approach to bio-inspired catalyst design. The molecular catalyst employed in these studies is based on the robust and selective Re(bpy)(CO)₃Cl-type (bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine) homogeneous catalysts, which have been extensively studied for their ability to reduce CO₂ electrochemically or photochemically in the presence of a photosensitizer. These catalysts can be highly active photocatalysts in their own right. In this work, the bipyridine ligand was modified with amino acids and synthetic peptides. These results build on earlier findings wherein the bipyridine ligand was functionalized with amide groups to promote dimer formation and CO₂ reduction by an alternate bimolecular mechanism at lower overpotential (ca. 250 mV) than the more commonly observed unimolecular process. The bio-inspired catalysts were designed to allow for the incorporation of proton relays to support reduction of CO₂ to CO and H₂O. The coupling of amino acids tyrosine and phenylalanine led to the formation of two structurally similar Re catalyst/peptide catalysts for comparison of proton transport during catalysis. This article reports the synthesis and characterization of novel catalyst/peptide hybrids by molecular dynamics (MD simulations of structural dynamics), NMR studies of solution phase structures, and electrochemical studies to measure the activities of new bio-inspired catalysts in the reduction of CO_2.