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Updated: Aug 1, 2026

The Synthesis, Characterization and Reactivity of a Series of Ruthenium N-triphosPh Complexes
Published on: April 10, 2015
Synthesis of the P-cluster inorganic core of nitrogenases
Yasuhiro Ohki1, Yusuke Sunada, Masaru Honda
1Department of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science and Research Center for Materials Science, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8602, Japan.
Abstract:
The [8Fe-7S] core of the P-clusters in nitrogenases is unique among the known [Fe-S] clusters which are essential to electron-transfer processes in nature. The [8Fe-7S] cluster has been thought unstable and to exist only in protein environments. We found that this unusual [8Fe-7S] structure can be self-assembled from the reaction of Fe(II) bis-amide, tetramethylthiourea, 2,4,6-triisopropylbenzenethiol, and elemental sulfur in a specific mole ratio. The structure of the complex isolated therefrom closely resembles that of the reduced form (PN) of the P-clusters, while the 6Fe(II)2Fe(III) oxidation state was manifested by the Mössbauer study.
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