Abstract We have performed a series of highly accurate calculations between CO2and the 20 naturally occurring amino acids for the investigation of the attractive noncovalent interactions. Different nucleophilic groups present in the amino acid structures were considered (α‐NH2, COOH, side groups), and the stronger binding sites were identified. A database of accurate reference interactions energies was compiled as computed by explicitly‐correlated coupled‐cluster singles‐and‐doubles, together with perturbative triples extrapolated to the complete‐basis‐set limit. The CCSD(F12)(T)/CBS reference values were used for comparing a variety of popular density functionals with different basis sets. Our results show that most density functionals with the triple‐zeta basis set def2‐TZVPP align with the CCSD(F12)(T)/CBS reference values, but errors range from 0.1 kcal/mol up to 1.0 kcal/mol.
more »
« less
In Silico Screening of CO 2 ‐Dipeptide Interactions for Bioinspired Carbon Capture
Abstract Carbon capture, sequestration and utilization offers a viable solution for reducing the total amount of atmospheric CO2concentrations. On an industrial scale, amine‐based solvents are extensively employed for CO2capture through chemisorption. Nevertheless, this method is marked by the high cost associated with solvent regeneration, high vapor pressure, and the corrosive and toxic attributes of by‐products, such as nitrosamines. An alternative approach is the biomimicry of sustainable materials that have strong affinity and selectivity for CO2. Bioinspired approaches, such as those based on naturally occurring amino acids, have been proposed for direct air capture methodologies. In this study, we present a database consisting of 960 dipeptide molecular structures, composed of the 20 naturally occurring amino acids. Those structures were analyzed with a novel computational workflow presented in this work that considers certain interaction sites that determine CO2affinity. Density functional theory (DFT) and symmetry‐adapted perturbation theory (SAPT) computations were performed for the calculation of CO2interaction energies, which allowed to limit our search space to 400 unique dipeptide structures. Using this computational workflow, we provide statistical insights into dipeptides and their affinity for CO2binding, as well as design principles that can further enhance CO2capture through cooperative binding.
more »
« less
- Award ID(s):
- 2143354
- PAR ID:
- 10559765
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- ChemPhysChem
- Volume:
- 26
- Issue:
- 4
- ISSN:
- 1439-4235
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
-
Abstract The capture, utilization, and storage of CO2are the primary options to minimize the adverse effects of global warming and related climate change resulting from increased anthropogenic CO2emissions. In recent years, amino acids and amino acid‐based ionic liquids (AAILs) are proposed as promising alternatives to the traditional aqueous amine solvent‐based CO2capture technology due to the presence of the ─NH2group and a CO2adsorption mechanism like amines, but with many additional advantages. Besides CO2absorption in solvent form, amino acids/AAILs‐functionalized porous sorbents demonstrate potential in CO2adsorption technology, a promising alternative to solvent‐based CO2absorption technology, as they can avoid the huge energy penalty associated with aqueous solution regeneration by heating. Additionally, amino acids/AAILs, with their CO2capture abilities, have demonstrated their potential in other promising CO2sequestration technologies: direct air capture, CO2mineralization using alkaline industrial waste, and conversion of CO2into value‐added products. This article reviews the mechanism, comparative performance, and prospects of amino acid‐based state‐of‐the‐art technologies for CO2absorption and adsorption, direct air capture, bio‐mineralization, and conversion of CO2into value‐added products, which is helpful for the further development of amino acid‐based CO2sequestration technologies.more » « less
-
Abstract Carbon dioxide capture technologies are set to play a vital role in mitigating the current climate crisis. Solid‐state17O NMR spectroscopy can provide key mechanistic insights that are crucial to effective sorbent development. In this work, we present the fundamental aspects and complexities for the study of hydroxide‐based CO2capture systems by17O NMR. We perform static density functional theory (DFT) NMR calculations to assign peaks for general hydroxide CO2capture products, finding that17O NMR can readily distinguish bicarbonate, carbonate and water species. However, in application to CO2binding in two test case hydroxide‐functionalised metal‐organic frameworks (MOFs) – MFU‐4l and KHCO3‐cyclodextrin‐MOF, we find that a dynamic treatment is necessary to obtain agreement between computational and experimental spectra. We therefore introduce a workflow that leverages machine‐learning force fields to capture dynamics across multiple chemical exchange regimes, providing a significant improvement on static DFT predictions. In MFU‐4l, we parameterise a two‐component dynamic motion of the bicarbonate motif involving a rapid carbonyl seesaw motion and intermediate hydroxyl proton hopping. For KHCO3‐CD‐MOF, we combined experimental and modelling approaches to propose a new mixed carbonate‐bicarbonate binding mechanism and thus, we open new avenues for the study and modelling of hydroxide‐based CO2capture materials by17O NMR.more » « less
-
Carboxylases are biocatalysts that capture and convert carbon dioxide (CO2) under mild conditions and atmospheric concentrations at a scale of more than 400 Gt annually. However, how these enzymes bind and control the gaseous CO2molecule during catalysis is only poorly understood. One of the most efficient classes of carboxylating enzymes are enoyl-CoA carboxylases/reductases (Ecrs), which outcompete the plant enzyme RuBisCO in catalytic efficiency and fidelity by more than an order of magnitude. Here we investigated the interactions of CO2within the active site of Ecr fromKitasatospora setae. Combining experimental biochemistry, protein crystallography, and advanced computer simulations we show that 4 amino acids, N81, F170, E171, and H365, are required to create a highly efficient CO2-fixing enzyme. Together, these 4 residues anchor and position the CO2molecule for the attack by a reactive enolate created during the catalytic cycle. Notably, a highly ordered water molecule plays an important role in an active site that is otherwise carefully shielded from water, which is detrimental to CO2fixation. Altogether, our study reveals unprecedented molecular details of selective CO2binding and C–C-bond formation during the catalytic cycle of nature’s most efficient CO2-fixing enzyme. This knowledge provides the basis for the future development of catalytic frameworks for the capture and conversion of CO2in biology and chemistry.more » « less
-
Rubisco is the enzyme responsible for CO2 fixation in nature, and it is activated by CO2 addition to the amine group of its lysine 201 side chain. We are designing rubisco-based biomimetic systems for reversible CO2 capture from ambient air. The oligopeptide biomimetic capture systems are employed in aqueous solution. To provide a solid foundation for the experimental solution-phase studies of the CO2 capture reaction, we report here the results of computational studies of the thermodynamics of CO2 capture by small alkylamines in aqueous solution. We studied CO2 addition to methyl-, ethyl-, propyl-, and butylamine with the consideration of the full conformational space for the amine and the corresponding carbamic acids and with the application of an accurate solvation model for the potential energy surface analyses. The reaction energies of the carbamylation reactions were determined based on just the most stable structures (MSS) and based on the ensemble energies computed with the Boltzmann distribution (BD), and it is found that ΔGBD ≈ ΔGMSS. The effect of the proper accounting for the molecular translational entropies in solution with the Wertz approach are much more significant, and the free energy of the capture reactions ΔWABD is more negative by 2.9 kcal/mol. Further accounting for volume effects in solution results in our best estimates for the reaction energies of the carbamylation reactions of ΔWABD = −5.4 kcal/mol. The overall difference is ΔGBD – ΔWABD = 2.4 kcal/mol for butylamine carbamylation. The full conformational space analyses inform about the conformational isomerizations of carbamic acids, and we determined the relevant rotational profiles and their transition-state structures. Our detailed studies emphasize that, more generally, solution-phase reaction energies should be evaluated with the Helmholtz free energy and can be affected substantially by solution effects on translational entropies.more » « less
An official website of the United States government
