Biomimetic Catalysis of O2 Reduction

Biomimetic studies usually have one of three objectives (a) to reproduce in a synthetic system the reactivity pattern theretofore observed only in an enzyme, (b) to design useful synthetic catalysts based on the principles learned from studying the corresponding enzyme(s), and (c) to better understand the mechanism and structure/activity relationship of an enzymatic catalytic site by studying aproperly designed biomimetic analog. 

Initial work in biomimetic O2 reduction was aimed almost exclusively at designing Fe porphyrin-based compounds that, when immobilized on an electrode, would catalyze electrochemical O2 reduction mainly to H2O (as opposed to H2O2) regardless of the electrochemical potential or the lifetime of the cat-aiyst28,32 objective is problematic in several aspects, as discussed be- 

---