Quantum chemical modeling of CO oxidation by the active site of molybdenum CO dehydrogenase

The catalytic mechanism of molybdenum containing CO dehydrogenase has been studied using hybrid DFT methods with quite large chemical models. The recent high-resolution X-ray structure, showing the surprising presence of copper linked to molybdenum, was used as a starting point. A pathway was initially found with a low barrier for C-O bond formation and CO2 release. However, this pathway did not include the formation of any S-CO2 species, which had been suggested by experiments with an n-butylisocyanide inhibitor. When these SCO2 structures were studied they were found to lead to deep minima, making CO2 release much more difficult. A large effort was spent, including investigations of other spin states, varying the number of protons and electrons, adding water, etc., until a plausible pathway for S-C bond cleavage was found. In this pathway a water molecule is inserted in between molybdenum and the SCO2 group. Full catalytic cycles, including electron and proton transfers, are constructed both with and without S-C bond formation. When these pathways are extended to two full catalytic cycles it can be understood why the formation of the S-C bond actually makes catalysis faster, even though the individual step of CO2 release becomes much more difficult. These results agree well with experimental findings.