Advanced electron paramagnetic resonance and density functional theory study of a {2Fe3S} cluster mimicking the active site of [FeFe] hydrogenase

Despite extensive investigations of the active site of the [FeFe] hydrogenases, many details concerning the properties of the "hydrogen converting cluster" are not yet fully understood. The complexity of the so-called H-cluster is one of the main difficulties in studying the properties of its components. The present study is aimed at the mixed-valence EPR active [Fe₂(μ-CO)(CO)₃(CN)₂{MeSCH ₂C(Me)(CH₂S)₂}]^1- that is structurally closely related to the redox active binuclear part of the H-cluster in its CO-inhibited oxidized state. In this work, we present a characterization of this compound by advanced pulse EPR methods. The accurate determination of the ⁵⁷Fe, ¹H, ²H, ¹⁴N, and ¹⁵N electron nuclear hyperfine interactions provided a very detailed picture of the electronic structure of this complex. A theoretical study using density functional theory (DFT) calculations identified possible isomers of the compound and further refined the knowledge about its properties. It was found that upon one electron oxidation of the parent Fe(I)-Fe(I) complex, the dominant mixed-valence Fe(I)-Fe(II) species is the one in which the CN ligand of the iron center that is distal to the thioether moves from the basal to the apical position. The unpaired spin distribution of the model complex is found to be clearly different from that of the native H-cluster. These differences are discussed and provide new insight into the functional features of the [FeFe] hydrogenase active site.