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Tracking dynamic structural changes in catalysis by rapid 2D-XANES microscopy.

ABSTRACT: Many processes and materials in heterogeneous catalysis undergo dynamic structural changes depending on their chemical environment. Monitoring such dynamic changes can be challenging using conventional spectroscopic characterization tools, due to the high time resolution required. Here, a high-resolution 2D X-ray camera operating at 50 Hz full-frame rate was synchronized with a QEXAFS monochromator, enabling rapid spectro-microscopic imaging with chemical contrast over individual pixels. This was used to monitor chemical gradients within a model Pt/Al₂O₃ catalyst during catalytic partial oxidation of methane to synthesis gas. The transition from methane combustion (partly oxidized Pt) to combustion-reforming and partial oxidation (fully reduced Pt) was observed by a characteristic reduction front, which progressed from the end of the catalyst bed towards its beginning on the second time scale. The full-field QEXAFS imaging method applied here allows acquisition of entire XANES spectra `on the fly' in a rapid and spatially resolved manner. The combination of high spatial and temporal resolution with spectroscopic data offers new opportunities for observing dynamic processes in catalysts and other functional materials at work. The methodology is flexible and can be applied at beamlines equipped with a QEXAFS or other fast-scanning monochromators and a suitable sample environment for gas phase analytics to allow for catalytic studies at the same time.

SUBMITTER: Alizadehfanaloo S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8415324 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Thiol peroxidases (Tpxs) are dimeric 2-Cys peroxiredoxins from bacteria that preferentially reduce alkyl hydroperoxides. Catalysis requires two conserved residues, the peroxidatic cysteine and the resolving cysteine, which are located in helix alpha(2) and helix alpha(3), respectively. The partial unraveling of helices alpha(2) and alpha(3) during catalysis allows for the formation of an intramolecular disulfide between these two residues. Here, we present three structures of Escherichia coli Tpx representing the fully folded (peroxide binding site intact), locally unfolded (disulfide bond), and partially locally unfolded (transitional state) conformations. We also compare known Tpx crystal structures and analyze the sequence-conservation patterns among nearly 300 Tpx sequences. Twelve fully conserved Tpx-specific residues cluster at the active site and dimer interface, and an additional 37 highly conserved residues are mostly located in a cradle providing the environment for helix alpha(2). Using the structures determined here as representative fully folded, transitional, and locally unfolded Tpx conformations, we describe in detail the structural changes associated with catalysis in the Tpx subfamily. Key insights include the description of a conserved hydrophobic collar around the active site, a set of conserved packing interactions between helices alpha(2) and alpha(3) that allow the local unfolding of alpha(2) to trigger the partial unfolding of alpha(3), a conserved dimer interface that anchors the ends of helices alpha(2) and alpha(3) to stabilize the active site during structural transitions, and a conserved set of residues constituting a cradle that stabilizes the two discrete conformations of helix alpha(2) involved in catalysis. The involvement of the dimer interface in stabilizing active-site folding and in forming the hydrophobic collar implies that Tpx is an obligate homodimer and explains the high conservation of interface residues.

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Tracking dynamic structural changes in catalysis by rapid 2D-XANES microscopy.

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