Binding of dinitrogen to an iron–sulfur–carbon site

Abstract

Nitrogenases are found in some microorganisms, and these enzymes convert atmospheric N2 to ammonia, thereby providing essential nitrogen atoms for higher organisms. Some nitrogenases reduce atmospheric N2 at the FeMoco, a sulfur-rich iron-molybdenum cluster1–5. The iron centers that are coordinated to sulfur and carbon atoms in FeMoco have been proposed as the substrate binding sites, based on kinetic and spectroscopic studies5,6. Studies on the enzyme indicate that iron atom Fe6 and possibly also adjacent belt iron sites are involved.5–8 In the resting state, the central Fe sites (including Fe6) have identical environments consisting of three sulfides and a carbide. Addition of electrons to the resting state causes the FeMoco to react with N2, but the geometry and bonding environment of N2-bound species remain unknown5. In this manuscript, we describe a synthetic complex with a sulfur-rich coordination sphere that, upon reduction, breaks an Fe-S bond and binds N2. The product is the first synthetic Fe–N2 complex in which iron has bonds to sulfur and carbon atoms, providing a model for N2 coordination in the FeMoco. Our results demonstrate that breaking an Fe-S bond is a chemically reasonable route to N2 binding in the FeMoco, and show structural and spectroscopic details for weakened N2 on a sulfur-rich iron site.