Role of intramolecular hydrogen bonds in promoting electron flow through amino acid and oligopeptide conjugates
Rafał Orłowski, John A. Clark, James B. Derr, Eli M. Espinoza, Maximillian F. Mayther, Olga Staszewska‐Krajewska, Jay R. Winkler, Hanna Jędrzejewska, Agnieszka Szumna, Harry B. Gray, Valentine I. Vullev, Daniel T. Gryko
Abstract
Significance Long-range electron transfer pervades biology, chemistry, and engineering, as it is critical for life-sustaining processes, chemical transformations, energy conversion, as well as electronic and photonic technologies. Elucidating the factors that control the rates of long-range electron transfer remains an outstanding challenge, owing in part to the complexity of proteins and other macromolecular structures that mediate such processes. We have found that short peptides linking electron donors and acceptors can assume folds with intramolecular hydrogen bond interactions that provide electronic-coupling pathways for ultrafast charge transfer. Our work will assist designs of donor–acceptor systems for efficient energy conversion and storage.