Student Hosted Colloquia: Professor Gary Brudvig, Yale University
Student Hosted Colloquia: Professor Gary Brudvig, Yale University (Host: Gus Braun)
About the Seminar
"Water oxidation chemistry of photosystem II and artificial systems"
Photosystem II (PSII) uses light energy to split water into protons, electrons and oxygen. In this reaction, Nature has solved the difficult chemical problem of efficient four-electron oxidation of water to yield O2 without significant side reactions. In order to use Nature’s solution for the design of materials that split water for solar fuel production, it is important to understand the mechanism of the reaction. The X-ray crystal structure of cyanobacterial PSII provides information on the structure of the Mn and Ca ions, the redox-active tyrosine called tyrosine-Z, chloride and the surrounding amino acids that comprise the oxygen-evolving complex (OEC). The structure of the OEC in the intermediate oxidation states of the catalytic cycle, the binding of substrate water molecules to the OEC and the water oxidation chemistry of PSII will be discussed in the light of biophysical, spectroscopic and computational studies, inorganic chemistry and X-ray crystallographic information. These insights on the natural photosynthetic system are being applied to develop bioinspired materials for photochemical water oxidation and solar fuel production. Our progress on the development of synthetic water oxidation catalysts and their use in materials for artificial photosynthesis will be discussed.
About the Speaker
Gary Brudvig is the Benjamin Silliman Professor of Chemistry, Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, and Director of the Yale Energy Sciences Institute. He received his B.S. (1976) from the University of Minnesota, his Ph.D. (1981) from Caltech and was a Miller Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of California, Berkeley from 1980 to 1982. Professor Brudvig has been on the faculty at Yale since 1982. His research involves study of the chemistry of solar energy conversion in photosynthesis and work to develop artificial bioinspired systems for solar fuel production. Since 2012, Brudvig has been the founding Director of the Energy Sciences Institute located at Yale’s West Campus where he oversees the development of new research programs and facilties related to renewable energy, alternative fuels, and carbon management.