A Zinc Coordination Complex Mimicking Carbonic Anhydrase for CO₂ Hydrolysis and Sequestration

Abstract

Carbonic anhydrase (CA) mimicking is an effective and environmentally friendly strategy for carbon dioxide sequestration. Herein, we developed a nonanuclear CA-mimetic zinc coordination complex (<b>1</b>) which possesses a coordination environment similar to that of CA's catalytically active zinc sites. Complex <b>1</b> exhibited excellent reusability, solvent and thermal stability, and gram-scale synthesis, which are essential for practical applications. It was found that complex <b>1</b> exhibited outstanding catalytic performance that is much better in comparison to that of the popular CA-mimetic compound Zn-cyclen and comparable to that of the reported metal-organic frameworks (e.g., <b>CFA-1</b>). Moreover, we found that its catalytic activity can be significantly improved via OAc^-/OH^- exchange and particle size reduction treatment. This study provides important guidance for the design of highly efficient CA-mimetic materials.