Tags: Inorganic Seminar


2D Heterostructures for Energy Storage and Electronics: Exploring the Limits of Weak and Strong Interlayer Interactions

Scott C. Warren, Ph.D. The ability to alter distances between atoms is among the most important tools in materials design.  Despite this importance, controlling the interlayer distance in stacks of 2D materials remains a challenge.  This talk will present two strategies for controlling this distance, thereby giving rise to several fascinating new classes of materials for electronics and energy storage. In the first strategy, we self-…


Targeting the Efficiency and Selectivity Challenges for Molecular Electrocatalysts that Reduce CO2 to Formic Acid


Mitochondrial Fe-S cluster assembly in Arabidopsis thaliana

In plants, three Fe-S cluster assembly pathways exist namely SUF, ISC and CIA, involved in the maturation of iron sulfur proteins in the plastid, mitochondria and cytosol respectively. In this talk, we report on anaerobic purification of three classes of recombinant mitochondrial Fe-S cluster carrier proteins from A. thaliana, namely GRXS15, ISCA1a/2, and NFU4/5, and characterization of their Fe-S cluster content using UV-visible absorption/CD,…


Characterization of [2Fe-2S] Clusters in Monothiol Glutaredoxin-BolA Complexes and ASP1 a Novel Phosphatase/Kinase

Iron sulfur clusters are common cofactors found in almost all living organisms. They have diverse biological functions, ranging from electron transfer and catalysis to regulation of gene expression and enzyme activity. Glutaredoxin (Grx) proteins are found in both eukaryotic and prokaryotic organisms.  One class, called monothiol Grxs, functions as carrier proteins for Fe-S cluster biosynthesis by virtue of their ability to bind [2Fe-2S]…


Lactate Racemase and its Novel Nickel-Pincer Nucleotide Cofactor

Lactic acid, a central metabolic intermediate of many cells, occurs as L- and D-isomers that are interconverted by lactate racemase. This enzyme from Lactobacillus plantarum is encoded by LarA and harbors a tethered nickel-pincer nucleotide (NPN) coenzyme derived from niacin. Synthesis of the enzyme-bound cofactor requires LarB, a carboxylase/hydrolase of nicotinic acid adenine dinucleotide (NaAD); LarE, a Mg·ATP-dependent sacrificial sulfur…


Molybdenum Oxides and Neuromorphic Computing

As modern electronic devices shrink, existing silicon-based technology struggles to reliably retain charge, presenting theoretical and physical limitations for these applications. Recently, ionic/electronic hybrid three-terminal memristive devices have been engineered to emulate biological synaptic functions, allowing for the concomitant storage and processing of information. While these devices are still in infancy, brain-inspired information…


Ancient enzymology. Formate dehydrogenases and the reduction of CO2

We have examined the rapid reaction kinetics and spectroscopic properties of the molybdenum-containing, NAD+-dependent FdsABG formate dehydrogenase from C. necator, demonstrating the direct transfer of the substrate Ca hydrogen to the molybdenum center of the enzyme in the course of the reaction. In light of recent advances in our understanding of the structure of the molybdenum center propose a reaction mechanism involving direct hydride…


OXIDATIVE DEGRADATION AND REDUCTIVE REPAIR OF [4Fe-4S] CLUSTERS

Of the three most common Fe-S clusters found in nature, the [4Fe-4S] cluster is the most abundant and accounts for the most diverse functions, ranging from electron transfer to regulation of gene expression and radical generation1. Solvent accessible [4Fe-4S] clusters are very sensitive to oxidative degradation and as such, are sometimes used as sensors of oxidative stress2. The major aim of this research project is to understand the mechanism…


Transition Metal Catalyst Design and Application in the Synthesis of Cyclic Polymers

Cyclic polymers do not contain end groups, and as a result they demonstrate a number of unique physical properties. For example, the density, refractive index, Tg, viscoelasticity, reptation, and surface properties of cyclic polymers all differ from those of their more common linear analogs. Over the past fifty years a handful of catalysts have been discovered that can create cyclic polymers. In this seminar, four new catalysts will be presented…


"Metaling" with Nature: Design and characterization of model metalloenzymes for small molecule activation

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