Hyeongtaek Lim

All Publications

• Kβ X-ray Emission Spectroscopy of Cu(I)-Lytic Polysaccharide Monooxygenase: Direct Observation of the Frontier Molecular Orbital for H2O2 Activation. Journal of the American Chemical Society Lim, H., Brueggemeyer, M. T., Transue, W. J., Meier, K. K., Jones, S. M., Kroll, T., Sokaras, D., Kelemen, B., Hedman, B., Hodgson, K. O., Solomon, E. I. 2023

  Abstract

  Lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMOs) catalyze the degradation of recalcitrant carbohydrate polysaccharide substrates. These enzymes are characterized by a mononuclear Cu(I) active site with a three-coordinate T-shaped "His-brace" configuration including the N-terminal histidine and its amine group as ligands. This study explicitly investigates the electronic structure of the d10 Cu(I) active site in a LPMO using Kβ X-ray emission spectroscopy (XES). The lack of inversion symmetry in the His-brace site enables the 3d/p mixing required for intensity in the Kβ valence-to-core (VtC) XES spectrum of Cu(I)-LPMO. These Kβ XES data are correlated to density functional theory (DFT) calculations to define the bonding, and in particular, the frontier molecular orbital (FMO) of the Cu(I) site. These experimentally validated DFT calculations are used to evaluate the reaction coordinate for homolytic cleavage of the H2O2 O-O bond and understand the contribution of this FMO to the low barrier of this reaction and how the geometric and electronic structure of the Cu(I)-LPMO site is activated for rapid reactivity with H2O2.

  View details for DOI 10.1021/jacs.3c04048

  View details for PubMedID 37441786

• Tuning the Type 1 Reduction Potential of Multicopper Oxidases: Uncoupling the Effects of Electrostatics and H-Bonding to Histidine Ligands. Journal of the American Chemical Society Singha, A., Sekretareva, A., Tao, L., Lim, H., Ha, Y., Braun, A., Jones, S. M., Hedman, B., Hodgson, K. O., Britt, R. D., Kosman, D. J., Solomon, E. I. 2023

  Abstract

  In multicopper oxidases (MCOs), the type 1 (T1) Cu accepts electrons from the substrate and transfers these to the trinuclear Cu cluster (TNC) where O2 is reduced to H2O. The T1 potential in MCOs varies from 340 to 780 mV, a range not explained by the existing literature. This study focused on the ∼350 mV difference in potential of the T1 center in Fet3p and Trametes versicolor laccase (TvL) that have the same 2His1Cys ligand set. A range of spectroscopies performed on the oxidized and reduced T1 sites in these MCOs shows that they have equivalent geometric and electronic structures. However, the two His ligands of the T1 Cu in Fet3p are H-bonded to carboxylate residues, while in TvL they are H-bonded to noncharged groups. Electron spin echo envelope modulation spectroscopy shows that there are significant differences in the second-sphere H-bonding interactions in the two T1 centers. Redox titrations on type 2-depleted derivatives of Fet3p and its D409A and E185A variants reveal that the two carboxylates (D409 and E185) lower the T1 potential by 110 and 255-285 mV, respectively. Density functional theory calculations uncouple the effects of the charge of the carboxylates and their difference in H-bonding interactions with the His ligands on the T1 potential, indicating 90-150 mV for anionic charge and ∼100 mV for a strong H-bond. Finally, this study provides an explanation for the generally low potentials of metallooxidases relative to the wide range of potentials of the organic oxidases in terms of different oxidized states of their TNCs involved in catalytic turnover.

  View details for DOI 10.1021/jacs.3c03241

  View details for PubMedID 37294874

• Dissociation of Pyridinethiolate Ligands during Hydrogen Evolution Reactions of Ni-Based Catalysts: Evidence from X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy. Inorganic chemistry Ledbetter, K., Larsen, C. B., Lim, H., Zoric, M. R., Koroidov, S., Pemmaraju, C. D., Gaffney, K. J., Cordones, A. A. 2022

  Abstract

  The protonation of several Ni-centered pyridine-2-thiolate photocatalysts for hydrogen evolution is investigated using X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). While protonation of the pyridinethiolate ligand was previously thought to result in partial dechelation from the metal at the pyridyl N site, we instead observe complete dissociation of the protonated ligand and replacement by solvent molecules. A combination of Ni K-edge and S K-edge XAS of the catalyst Ni(bpy)(pyS)2 (bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine; pyS = pyridine-2-thiolate) identifies the structure of the fully protonated catalyst as a solvated [Ni(bpy)(DMF)4]2+ (DMF = dimethylformamide) complex and the dissociated ligands as the N-protonated 2-thiopyridone (pyS-H). This surprising result is further supported by UV-vis absorption spectroscopy and DFT calculations and is demonstrated for additional catalyst structures and solvent environments using a combination of XAS and UV-vis spectroscopy. Following protonation, electrochemical measurements indicate that the solvated Ni bipyridine complex acts as the primary electron-accepting species during photocatalysis, resulting in separate protonated ligand and reduced Ni species. The role of ligand dissociation is considered in the larger context of the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) mechanism. As neither the pyS-H ligand nor the Ni bipyridine complex acts as an efficient HER catalyst alone, the critical role of ligand coordination is highlighted. This suggests that shifting the equilibrium toward bound species by addition of excess protonated ligand (2-thiopyridone) may improve the performance of pyridinethiolate-containing catalysts.

  View details for DOI 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.2c00167

  View details for PubMedID 35732599

• A Thioether-Ligated Cupric Superoxide Model with Hydrogen Atom Abstraction Reactivity. Journal of the American Chemical Society Bhadra, M. n., Transue, W. J., Lim, H. n., Cowley, R. E., Lee, J. Y., Siegler, M. A., Josephs, P. n., Henkel, G. n., Lerch, M. n., Schindler, S. n., Neuba, A. n., Hodgson, K. O., Hedman, B. n., Solomon, E. I., Karlin, K. D. 2021

  Abstract

  The central role of cupric superoxide intermediates proposed in hormone and neurotransmitter biosynthesis by noncoupled binuclear copper monooxygenases like dopamine-β-monooxygenase has drawn significant attention to the unusual methionine ligation of the CuM ("CuB") active site characteristic of this class of enzymes. The copper-sulfur interaction has proven critical for turnover, raising still-unresolved questions concerning Nature's selection of an oxidizable Met residue to facilitate C-H oxygenation. We describe herein a model for CuM, [(TMGN3S)CuI]+ ([1]+), and its O2-bound analog [(TMGN3S)CuII(O2•-)]+ ([1·O2]+). The latter is the first reported cupric superoxide with an experimentally proven Cu-S bond which also possesses demonstrated hydrogen atom abstraction (HAA) reactivity. Introduction of O2 to a precooled solution of the cuprous precursor [1]B(C6F5)4 (-135 °C, 2-methyltetrahydrofuran (2-MeTHF)) reversibly forms [1·O2]B(C6F5)4 (UV/vis spectroscopy: λmax 442, 642, 742 nm). Resonance Raman studies (413 nm) using 16O2 [18O2] corroborated the identity of [1·O2]+ by revealing Cu-O (446 [425] cm-1) and O-O (1105 [1042] cm-1) stretches, and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy showed a Cu-S interatomic distance of 2.55 Å. HAA reactivity between [1·O2]+ and TEMPO-H proceeds rapidly (1.28 × 10-1 M-1 s-1, -135 °C, 2-MeTHF) with a primary kinetic isotope effect of kH/kD = 5.4. Comparisons of the O2-binding behavior and redox activity of [1]+ vs [2]+, the latter a close analog of [1]+ but with all N atom ligation (i.e., N3S vs N4), are presented.

  View details for DOI 10.1021/jacs.1c00260

  View details for PubMedID 33684290

• Short-lived metal-centered excited state initiates iron-methionine photodissociation in ferrous cytochrome c. Nature communications Reinhard, M. E., Mara, M. W., Kroll, T., Lim, H., Hadt, R. G., Alonso-Mori, R., Chollet, M., Glownia, J. M., Nelson, S., Sokaras, D., Kunnus, K., Driel, T. B., Hartsock, R. W., Kjaer, K. S., Weninger, C., Biasin, E., Gee, L. B., Hodgson, K. O., Hedman, B., Bergmann, U., Solomon, E. I., Gaffney, K. J. 2021; 12 (1): 1086

  Abstract

  The dynamics of photodissociation and recombination in heme proteins represent an archetypical photochemical reaction widely used to understand the interplay between chemical dynamics and reaction environment. We report a study of the photodissociation mechanism for the Fe(II)-S bond between the heme iron and methionine sulfur of ferrous cytochrome c. This bond dissociation is an essential step in the conversion of cytochrome c from an electron transfer protein to a peroxidase enzyme. We use ultrafast X-ray solution scattering to follow the dynamics of Fe(II)-S bond dissociation and 1s3p (Kbeta) X-ray emission spectroscopy to follow the dynamics of the iron charge and spin multiplicity during bond dissociation. From these measurements, we conclude that the formation of a triplet metal-centered excited state with anti-bonding Fe(II)-S interactions triggers the bond dissociation and precedes the formation of the metastable Fe high-spin quintet state.

  View details for DOI 10.1038/s41467-021-21423-w

  View details for PubMedID 33597529

• Kbeta X-ray Emission Spectroscopy as a Probe of Cu(I) Sites: Application to the Cu(I) Site in Preprocessed Galactose Oxidase. Inorganic chemistry Lim, H., Baker, M. L., Cowley, R. E., Kim, S., Bhadra, M., Siegler, M. A., Kroll, T., Sokaras, D., Weng, T., Biswas, D. R., Dooley, D. M., Karlin, K. D., Hedman, B., Hodgson, K. O., Solomon, E. I. 2020

  Abstract

  Cu(I) active sites in metalloproteins are involved in O2 activation, but their O2 reactivity is difficult to study due to the Cu(I) d10 closed shell which precludes the use of conventional spectroscopic methods. Kbeta X-ray emission spectroscopy (XES) is a promising technique for investigating Cu(I) sites as it detects photons emitted by electronic transitions from occupied orbitals. Here, we demonstrate the utility of Kbeta XES in probing Cu(I) sites in model complexes and a metalloprotein. Using Cu(I)Cl, emission features from double-ionization (DI) states are identified using varying incident X-ray photon energies, and a reasonable method to correct the data to remove DI contributions is presented. Kbeta XES spectra of Cu(I) model complexes, having biologically relevant N/S ligands and different coordination numbers, are compared and analyzed, with the aid of density functional theory (DFT) calculations, to evaluate the sensitivity of the spectral features to the ligand environment. While the low-energy Kbeta2,5 emission feature reflects the ionization energy of ligand np valence orbitals, the high-energy Kbeta2,5 emission feature corresponds to transitions from molecular orbitals (MOs) having mainly Cu 3d character with the intensities determined by ligand-mediated d-p mixing. A Kbeta XES spectrum of the Cu(I) site in preprocessed galactose oxidase (GOpre) supports the 1Tyr/2His structural model that was determined by our previous X-ray absorption spectroscopy and DFT study. The high-energy Kbeta2,5 emission feature in the Cu(I)-GOpre data has information about the MO containing mostly Cu 3dx2-y2 character that is the frontier molecular orbital (FMO) for O2 activation, which shows the potential of Kbeta XES in probing the Cu(I) FMO associated with small-molecule activation in metalloproteins.

  View details for DOI 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.0c02495

  View details for PubMedID 33136386

• X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy as a Probe of Ligand Noninnocence in Metallocorroles: The Case of Copper Corroles INORGANIC CHEMISTRY Lim, H., Thomas, K. E., Hedman, B., Hodgson, K. O., Ghosh, A., Solomon, E. I. 2019; 58 (10): 6722–30

  View details for DOI 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.9b00128

  View details for Web of Science ID 000469304700018

• Formylglycine-generating enzyme binds substrate directly at a mononuclear Cu(I) center to initiate O-2 activation PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Appel, M. J., Meier, K. K., Lafrance-Vanasse, J., Lim, H., Tsai, C., Hedman, B., Hodgson, K. O., Tainer, J. A., Solomon, E. I., Bertozzi, C. R. 2019; 116 (12): 5370–75

  View details for DOI 10.1073/pnas.1818274116

  View details for Web of Science ID 000461679000031

• A Six-Coordinate Peroxynitrite Low-Spin Iron(III) Porphyrinate Complex-The Product of the Reaction of Nitrogen Monoxide (center dot NO(g)) with a Ferric-Superoxide Species JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY Sharma, S. K., Schaefer, A. W., Lim, H., Matsumura, H., Moenne-Loccoz, P., Hedman, B., Hodgson, K. O., Solomon, E. I., Karlin, K. D. 2017; 139 (48): 17421–30

  Abstract

  Peroxynitrite (-OON═O, PN) is a reactive nitrogen species (RNS) which can effect deleterious nitrative or oxidative (bio)chemistry. It may derive from reaction of superoxide anion (O2•-) with nitric oxide (·NO) and has been suggested to form an as-yet unobserved bound heme-iron-PN intermediate in the catalytic cycle of nitric oxide dioxygenase (NOD) enzymes, which facilitate a ·NO homeostatic process, i.e., its oxidation to the nitrate anion. Here, a discrete six-coordinate low-spin porphyrinate-FeIII complex [(PIm)FeIII(-OON═O)] (3) (PIm; a porphyrin moiety with a covalently tethered imidazole axial "base" donor ligand) has been identified and characterized by various spectroscopies (UV-vis, NMR, EPR, XAS, resonance Raman) and DFT calculations, following its formation at -80 °C by addition of ·NO(g) to the heme-superoxo species, [(PIm)FeIII(O2•-)] (2). DFT calculations confirm that 3 is a six-coordinate low-spin species with the PN ligand coordinated to iron via its terminal peroxidic anionic O atom with the overall geometry being in a cis-configuration. Complex 3 thermally transforms to its isomeric low-spin nitrato form [(PIm)FeIII(NO3-)] (4a). While previous (bio)chemical studies show that phenolic substrates undergo nitration in the presence of PN or PN-metal complexes, in the present system, addition of 2,4-di-tert-butylphenol (2,4DTBP) to complex 3 does not lead to nitrated phenol; the nitrate complex 4a still forms. DFT calculations reveal that the phenolic H atom approaches the terminal PN O atom (farthest from the metal center and ring core), effecting O-O cleavage, giving nitrogen dioxide (·NO2) plus a ferryl compound [(PIm)FeIV═O] (7); this rebounds to give [(PIm)FeIII(NO3-)] (4a).The generation and characterization of the long sought after ferriheme peroxynitrite complex has been accomplished.

  View details for PubMedID 29091732

• Metalloprotein entatic control of ligand-metal bonds quantified by ultrafast x-ray spectroscopy SCIENCE Mara, M. W., Hadt, R. G., Reinhard, M., Kroll, T., Lim, H., Hartsock, R. W., Alonso-Mori, R., Chollet, M., Glownia, J. M., Nelson, S., Sokaras, D., Kunnus, K., Hodgson, K. O., Hedman, B., Bergmann, U., Gaffney, K. J., Solomon, E. I. 2017; 356 (6344): 1276-+

  Abstract

  The multifunctional protein cytochrome c (cyt c) plays key roles in electron transport and apoptosis, switching function by modulating bonding between a heme iron and the sulfur in a methionine residue. This Fe-S(Met) bond is too weak to persist in the absence of protein constraints. We ruptured the bond in ferrous cyt c using an optical laser pulse and monitored the bond reformation within the protein active site using ultrafast x-ray pulses from an x-ray free-electron laser, determining that the Fe-S(Met) bond enthalpy is ~4 kcal/mol stronger than in the absence of protein constraints. The 4 kcal/mol is comparable with calculations of stabilization effects in other systems, demonstrating how biological systems use an entatic state for modest yet accessible energetics to modulate chemical function.

  View details for PubMedID 28642436

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC5706643

• Hydroxo-Bridged Dicopper(II,III) and -(III,III) Complexes: Models for Putative Intermediates in Oxidation Catalysis JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY Halvagar, M. R., Solntsev, P. V., Lim, H., Hedman, B., Hodgson, K. O., Solomon, E. I., Cramer, C. J., Tolman, W. B. 2014; 136 (20): 7269-7272

  Abstract

  A macrocyclic ligand (L(4-)) comprising two pyridine(dicarboxamide) donors was used to target reactive copper species relevant to proposed intermediates in catalytic hydrocarbon oxidations by particulate methane monooxygenase and heterogeneous zeolite systems. Treatment of LH4 with base and Cu(OAc)2·H2O yielded (Me4N)2[L2Cu4(μ4-O)] (1) or (Me4N)[LCu2(μ-OH)] (2), depending on conditions. Complex 2 was found to undergo two reversible 1-electron oxidations via cyclic voltammetry and low-temperature chemical reactions. On the basis of spectroscopy and theory, the oxidation products were identified as novel hydroxo-bridged mixed-valent Cu(II)Cu(III) and symmetric Cu(III)2 species, respectively, that provide the first precedence for such moieties as oxidation catalysis intermediates.

  View details for DOI 10.1021/ja503629r

  View details for Web of Science ID 000336416600021

  View details for PubMedID 24821432

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC4046753

• Excited-state proton-relay dynamics of 7-hydroxyquinoline controlled by solvent reorganization in room temperature ionic liquids PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY CHEMICAL PHYSICS Lim, H., Jeong, H., Park, S., Lee, J. Y., Jang, D. 2012; 14 (1): 218-224

  Abstract

  The excited-state triple proton relay of 7-hydroxyquinoline (7HQ) along a hydrogen-bonded methanol chain in room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) has been investigated using picosecond time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy. The rate constant of the proton relay in a methanol-added RTIL is found to be slower by an order of magnitude than that in bulk methanol and to have unity in its kinetic isotope effect. These suggest that the excited-state tautomerization dynamics of 7HQ in methanol-added RTILs is mainly controlled by the solvent reorganization dynamics to form a cyclically hydrogen-bonded complex of 7HQ·(CH(3)OH)(2) upon absorption of a photon due to high viscosity values of RTILs. Because the cyclic complex of 7HQ·(CH(3)OH)(2) at the ground state is unstable in RTILs, the collision-induced slow formation of the cyclic complex should take place upon excitation prior to undergoing subsequent intrinsic proton transfer rapidly.

  View details for DOI 10.1039/c1cp22329a

  View details for Web of Science ID 000297593800025

  View details for PubMedID 22073404

• Excited-State Double Proton Transfer of 7-Azaindole Dimers in a Low-Temperature Organic Glass PHOTOCHEMISTRY AND PHOTOBIOLOGY Lim, H., Park, S., Jang, D. 2011; 87 (4): 766-771

  Abstract

  The excited-state double proton transfer of model DNA base pairs, 7-azaindole (7AI) dimers, is explored in a low-temperature organic glass of n-dodecane using picosecond time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy. Reaction mechanisms are found to depend on the conformations of 7AI dimers at the moment of excitation; whereas planar conformers tautomerize rapidly (<10 ps), twisted conformers undergo double proton transfer to form tautomeric dimers on the time scale of 250 ps at 8 K. The proton transfer is found to consist of two orthogonal steps: precursor-configurational optimization and intrinsic proton transfer via tunneling. The rate is almost isotope independent at cryogenic temperatures because configurational optimization is the rate-determining step of the overall proton transfer. This optimization is assisted by lattice vibrations below 150 K or by librational motions above 150 K.

  View details for DOI 10.1111/j.1751-1097.2011.00923.x

  View details for Web of Science ID 000292864200004

  View details for PubMedID 21413991

• Excited-State Double Proton Transfer Dynamics of Model DNA Base Pairs: 7-Hydroxyquinoline Dimers JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY A Lim, H., Park, S., Jang, D. 2010; 114 (43): 11432-11435

  Abstract

  The excited-state double proton transfer of model DNA base pairs, 7-hydroxyquinoline dimers, in benzene has been investigated using picosecond time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy. Upon excitation, whereas singly hydrogen-bonded noncyclic dimers do not go through tautomerization within the relaxation time of 1400 ps, doubly hydrogen-bonded cyclic dimers undergo excited-state double proton transfer on the time scale of 25 ps to form tautomeric dimers, which subsequently undergo a conformational change in 180 ps to produce singly hydrogen-bonded tautomers. The rate constant of the double proton transfer reaction is temperature-independent, showing a large kinetic isotope effect of 5.2, suggesting that the rate is governed mostly by tunneling.

  View details for DOI 10.1021/jp106301q

  View details for Web of Science ID 000283471900009

  View details for PubMedID 20939620