Affiliation: | 1. Department of Chemistry, Institute for Advanced Studies in Basic Sciences (IASBS), Zanjan 45137-66731, Iran;2. Center of Climate Change and Global Warming, Institute for Advanced Studies in Basic Sciences (IASBS), Zanjan 45137-66731, Iran;3. Department of Biochemistry, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand;4. Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Tokyo University of Science, Kagurazaka 1-3, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8601, Japan;5. Department of Chemistry, School of Science, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan;6. Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University, Okayama 700-8530, Japan;g Faculty of Science, Okayama University, Okayama 700-8530, Japan;h Department de Chimie-Biologie, Université du Quebec à Trois Rivières, 3351, Boulevard des Forges, C.P. 500, Quebec G9A 5H7, Canada;i Institute of Plant Physiology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Botanicheskaya Street 35, Moscow 127276, Russia;j Institute of Basic Biological Problems, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pushchino, Moscow Region 142290, Russia |
Abstract: | The water-oxidizing complex (WOC), also known as the oxygen-evolving complex (OEC), of photosystem II in oxygenic photosynthetic organisms efficiently catalyzes water oxidation. It is, therefore, responsible for the presence of oxygen in the Earth's atmosphere. The WOC is a manganese–calcium (Mn4CaO5(H2O)4) cluster housed in a protein complex. In this review, we focus on water exchange chemistry of metal hydrates and discuss the mechanisms and factors affecting this chemical process. Further, water exchange rates for both the biological cofactor and synthetic manganese water splitting are discussed. The importance of fully unveiling the water exchange mechanism to understand the chemistry of water oxidation is also emphasized here. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Photosynthesis Research for Sustainability: Keys to Produce Clean Energy. |