Bis(histidine)/Bis(imidazole) Heme complex - Polymer electrolyte fuel cell application as an alternative cathode electrode catalyst

• Main Authors: Dy, Sy, Diño, Wilson Agerico, Tsuda, Muneyuki, Kasai, Hideaki
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2005
• Subjects: Cathodes; Catalysis; Proton exchange membrane fuel cells; Iron; Oxygen; Chemisorption; Density functionals; Nanostructures; Bioactive compounds
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/faculty_research/4030
• Institution: De La Salle University

We focus on a variant of the heme protein, i.e., the recently discovered neuroglobin (NHb) and cytoglobin (CHb), looking for clues with regard to possible applications in polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs), in a quest to design nanomaterials that would replace the expensive platinum catalysts used in PEFC electrodes. The active heme sites of these two new members of the globin superfamily display a functionally-relevant heme iron atom, whose sixth coordination site is occupied by an endogenous (internal) protein ligand, in the absence of exogenous (external) ligands, such as O2, CO, and NO. Density Functional Theory (DFT)-based calculation results indicate a possible means of controlling the adsorption and desorption on adsorbed O2 through the endogenous protein ligand occupying the sixth coordination site of the central iron atom in the heme structure. © 2005 The Surface Science Society of Japan.