Differential Electrochemical Conductance Imaging at the Nanoscale.

Electron transfer in proteins is essential in crucial biological processes. Although the fundamental aspects of biological electron transfer are well characterized, currently there are no experimental tools to determine the atomic-scale electronic pathways in redox proteins, and thus to fully understand their outstanding efficiency and environmental adaptability. This knowledge is also required to design and optimize biomolecular electronic devices. In order to measure the local conductance of an electrode surface immersed in an electrolyte, this study builds upon the current-potential spectroscopic capacity of electrochemical scanning tunneling microscopy, by adding an alternating current modulation technique. With this setup, spatially resolved, differential electrochemical conductance images under bipotentiostatic control are recorded. Differential electrochemical conductance imaging allows visualizing the reversible oxidation of an iron electrode in borate buffer and individual azurin proteins immobilized on atomically flat gold surfaces. In particular, this method reveals submolecular regions with high conductance within the protein. The direct observation of nanoscale conduction pathways in redox proteins and complexes enables important advances in biochemistry and bionanotechnology.

Hydrogen production at high Faradaic efficiency by a bio-electrode based on TiO2 adsorption of a new [FeFe]-hydrogenase from Clostridium perfringens.

The [FeFe]-hydrogenase CpHydA from Clostridium perfringens was immobilized by adsorption on anatase TiO2 electrodes for clean hydrogen production. The immobilized enzyme proved to perform direct electron transfer to and from the electrode surface and catalyses both H2 oxidation (H2 uptake) and H2 production (H2 evolution) with a current density for H2 evolution of about 2 mA cm(-1). The TiO2/CpHydA bioelectrode remained active for several days upon storage and when a reducing potential was set, H2 evolution occurred with a mean Faradaic efficiency of 98%. The high turnover frequency of H2 production and the tight coupling of electron transfer, resulting in a Faradaic efficiency close to 100%, support the exploitation of the novel TiO2/CpHydA stationary electrode as a powerful device for H2 production.