Aims: This presentation will focus on the chemistry related to two Ni-containing enzymes, acetyl-Coenzyme A synthase (ACS) and [NiFe] hydrogenase, which perform exquisite oxygen-sensitive organometallic chemistry in a biological environment.
Results: Recently, we have reported the development of catalytic and functional mimics of both [NiFe] hydrogenases and ACS.1-4
Conclusions: The novelty of our approach stems from the design of flexible multidentate ligands with mixed hard/soft donor atoms that allow the detection and characterization of both low- and high-valent organometallic Ni species, which are key reactive intermediates during catalysis.