Hydrogenase enzymes: Application in biofuel cells and inspiration for the design of noble-metal free catalysts for H2 oxidation

While hydrogen is often considered as a promising energy vector and an alternative to fossil fuels, the rise of the hydrogen economy is ever and ever postponed. This is mainly due to the high costs of the materials required for the elaboration of fuel cells, these wonderful systems that release the energy contained in the H2 molecule in the form of electrical power. Indeed, scarce and precious platinum is required as a catalyst at both electrodes of fuel cells. A solution may be found in nature with metalloenzymes involved in hydrogen metabolism, called hydrogenases. These natural catalysts can be used directly in biofuel cells or serve as an inspiration to chemists for the elaboration of bio-inspired electrocatalytic materials.The authors acknowledge the financial support of the French National Research Agency (EnzHyd project, Grant ANR-08-PANH-008) and the Nanoscience program of CEA