Nitrogen reduction by the Fe sites of synthetic [Mo3S4Fe] cubes.

Abstract

Nitrogen (N2) fixation by nature, which is a crucial process for the supply of bio-available forms of nitrogen, is performed by nitrogenase. This enzyme uses a unique transition-metal-sulfur-carbon cluster as its active-site co-factor ([(R-homocitrate)MoFe7S9C], FeMoco)1,2, and the sulfur-surrounded iron (Fe) atoms have been postulated to capture and reduce N2 (refs. 3-6). Although there are a few examples of synthetic counterparts of the FeMoco, metal-sulfur cluster, which have shown binding of N2 (refs. 7-9), the reduction of N2 by any synthetic metal-sulfur cluster or by the extracted form of FeMoco10 has remained elusive, despite nearly 50 years of research. Here we show that the Fe atoms in our synthetic [Mo3S4Fe] cubes11,12 can capture a N2 molecule and catalyse N2 silylation to form N(SiMe3)3 under treatment with excess sodium and trimethylsilyl chloride. These results exemplify the catalytic silylation of N2 by a synthetic metal-sulfur cluster and demonstrate the N2-reduction capability of Fe atoms in a sulfur-rich environment, which is reminiscent of the ability of FeMoco to bind and activate N2.