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Professor Holger Dau, Free University Berlin, presents this seminar on; “Photosynthetic water oxidation- from basic research to solar fuels.”
In the Chair: Professor Jim Barber
Abstract: Soon exhausted oil resources as well as the global climate change have stimulated research aiming at the production of alternative fuels, ideally driven by solar energy. Any attractive scheme for production of solar fuels needs to involve the splitting of water into protons, energized electrons and dioxygen. In photosynthetic organisms, solar-energy conversion and catalysis of water splitting (or water oxidation) proceed in an impressive cofactor-protein complex denoted as photosystem II (PSII). The heart of biological water-oxidation is a protein-bound manganese-calcium complex working at technically unmatched efficiency. In an attempt to learn from nature, the natural paragon is intensely studied using advanced biophysical methods. Structural studies by X-ray spectroscopy with synchrotron radiation play a prominent role in this endeavor. Some secrets of biological water oxidation have been revealed recently, however pivotal questions have remained unanswered.
An overview is presented focusing on (i) the efficiency of solar energy usage in PSII, (ii) the structure of the water-oxidizing metal complex, and (iii) the mechanism of water oxidation. The function of PSII in microorganism genetically optimized for fuel production is discussed. Eventually new results on water oxidation by synthetic manganese and cobalt oxides are presented and their future integration in synthetic nanostructured systems is considered.
Biography: Holger Dau received his physics diploma (1985) and doctoral degree (1989) in Kiel, for biophysical research with U.-P. Hansen (Kiel) and at the Weizmann Institut (Rehovot, winter 1987/88). After postdoctoral work with K. Sauer at the UC Berkeley (Chemistry Dept. and Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, 1990-92) and H. Senger in Marburg, he received his Habilitation degree for Biophysics and Plant Physiology at the Biology Dept. of the Philipps University Marburg (1994). Besides photosynthesis research in Marburg, he developed biotest applications at bbe Moldaenke GmbH (1997-1999). Since 2000, he is full professor for biophysics at the Physics Dept. of the Free University in Berlin, where he investigates biological and synthetic metal sites with X-ray spectroscopy and complementary methods. His current focus lies on light-driven water oxidation and H2-formation in biological and bio-inspired synthetic systems.
For more information please email Professor Jim Barber