Nickel–thiolate and iron–thiolate cyanocarbonyl complexes: Modeling the nickel and iron sites of [NiFe] hydrogenase

During the past decade, structures and functions (catalytic mechanism) of [NiFe]/[Fe] hydrogenases have been established/proposed. Model compounds, various biophysical measurements and theoretical calculations have been lent to elucidate the structure and function (catalytic mechanism) of active sites of [NiFe]/[Fe] hydrogenases. In this manuscript, biomimetic model compounds, including iron(II)–thiolate cyanocarbonyls, nickel(III)–thiolates and nickel(II)–thiolate complexes with pendant thiol, are presented.