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Abstract
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Plants, algae and cyanobacteria capture sunlight, extracting electrons from H
2
O to reduce CO2 into sugars while releasing O
2
in the oxygenic photosynthetic process. Because of the important role of water oxidation in artificial photosynthesis and many solar fuel systems, understanding the structure and function of this unique biological catalyst forms a requisite research field. Herein the structure of the water-oxidizing complex and its ligand environment are described with reference to the 1.9 Å resolution X-ray-derived crystallographic model of the water-oxidizing complex from the cyanobacterium Thermosynechococcus vulcanus. Proposed mechanisms for water oxidation by
Photosystem II and nanosized manganese oxides are also reviewed and discussed in the paper.
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