Nowadays this approach has received a big impulse due to the availability of high-resolution crystal structures of several hydrogenases obtained with different techniques.
Several studies have demonstrated the possibility to develop chemical cells inspired by biological models to produce molecular hydrogen, for example: Selvaggi et al.[1] explored the possibility to use energy captured by the PSII, developing for that goal, an organic-inorganic hybrid system replacing the PSII protein complex by microspheres of TiO2 a photo-inducible compound.
The obtained results from immobilization of hydrogenases on the surface of electrodes have demonstrated the viability of incorporating these enzymes in electrochemical cells, due to their ability to produce gaseous hydrogen through a redox reaction.
This interest is motivated by the inclusion of high field ligands like cyano and CO (metal carbonyl) in the first coordination sphere of the pertinent di-iron cluster.
These high field ligands may ensure the iron centers at the active site remain in a low spin state throughout the catalytic cycle.
Many elegant structural mimics have been synthesized reproducing the atomic content and connectivity of the active site.
Functional mimics have made advances in the reactive chemistry and have implications on the mechanistic activity of the enzyme as well as acting as catalysts in their own right.