Protection and Reactivation of the [NiFeSe] Hydrogenase from Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough under Oxidative Conditions

• Published in: ACS energy letters Vol. 2; no. 5; pp. 964 - 968
• Main Authors: Ruff, Adrian, Szczesny, Julian, Zacarias, Sónia, Pereira, Inês A. C, Plumeré, Nicolas, Schuhmann, Wolfgang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Chemical Society 12.05.2017
• Subjects: Letter
• ISSN: 2380-8195; 2380-8195
• DOI: 10.1021/acsenergylett.7b00167

We report on the fabrication of bioanodes for H2 oxidation based on [NiFeSe] hydrogenase. The enzyme was electrically wired by means of a specifically designed low-potential viologen-modified polymer, which delivers benchmark H2 oxidizing currents even under deactivating conditions owing to efficient protection against O2 combined with a viologen-induced reactivation of the O2 inhibited enzyme. Moreover, the viologen-modified polymer allows for electrochemical co-deposition of polymer and biocatalyst and, by this, for control of the film thickness. Protection and reactivation of the enzyme was demonstrated in thick and thin reaction layers.