Designing Peptoid-based Cofactor-free Catalysts for Enhanced CO2 Hydration

Abstract

Efficient carbon dioxide hydration is a key step in carbon capture and utilization technologies. Natural carbonic anhydrase catalyzes this reaction with excellent efficiency yet suffers from low abundance and poor stability for industrial usage. Peptoid-based enzyme mimetics have been offered as a promising solution. Referring to the structural similarities between peptoids and peptides, a series of peptoid-based biomimetic catalysts have been designed and synthesized. In this thesis, we have performed systematic evaluations of peptoid-based catalysts as CA mimetics. By investigating the influence of morphology of peptoid-based nanostructures on catalytic activity, we first verified that the catalytic activity of mimetics is brought by a similar structure to the active site of CA. Then results showed that crystalline nanosheet with higher solvent- accessible surface areas exhibited higher catalytic activity. Also, by investigating the influence of ligand-metal coordination, we identified structural features that promote or hinder catalytic activity. Furthermore, stability tests conducted on a cofactor-free catalyst, Nbrpe6cyclenHis3, which further confirmed the high structural and activity stability of peptoid-based catalyst.