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[DPEPhosbcpCu]PF6: A General and Broadly Applicable Copper-Based Photoredox Catalyst
Published on: May 21, 2019
Elementary Reactions in the Functional Triads of the Blue-Light Photoreceptor BLUF Domain
Xiu-Wen Kang1, Kailin Wang1, Xiaofan Zhang1
1Center for Ultrafast Science and Technology, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China.
Abstract:
The blue light using the flavin (BLUF) domain is one of the smallest photoreceptors in nature, which consists of a unique bidirectional electron-coupled proton relay process in its photoactivation reaction cycle. This perspective summarizes our recent efforts in dissecting the photocycle into three elementary processes, including proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET), proton rocking, and proton relay. Using ultrafast spectroscopy, we have determined the temporal sequence, rates, kinetic isotope effects (KIEs), and concertedness of these elementary steps. Our findings provide important implications for illuminating the photoactivation mechanism of the BLUF domain and suggest an engineering platform to characterize intricate reactions involving proton motions that are ubiquitous in nonphotosensitive protein machines.
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