Conversion of nitrous oxide to nitrogen by cobalt-substituted myoglobin

Developing technology to decrease greenhouse gas emissions is one of the greatest challenges we face in the 21st century. Nitrous oxide (N2O) is an important greenhouse gas, which is estimated to contribute 6% of the overall global warming effect. Herein we report the use of cobalt substituted heme proteins to reduce N2O to nitrogen (N-2). This catalysis was electrochemically driven using methyl viologen or benzyl viologen as electron transfer partners for cobalt myoglobin. Using bulk electrolysis we demonstrated the production of N-15(2) from N-15(2). This catalysis, however, was noted to be poor, most likely due to oxidative damage to the protein scaffold.