'Electron Bifurcation without Maxwell Demons'
Professor David Beratan, Duke University
Abstract: Professor Beratan will discuss mechanistic riddles surrounding electron bifurcation reactions in biology. In these reactions, two-electrons are released in different directions, from a single donor, at potentials that differ by hundreds of millivolts. The reactions are typically carried out at high thermodynamic efficiency, without “short circuits” or violating the second law of thermodynamics. Professor Beratan will explore some of the strategies that biomolecules seem to have discovered in order to bifurcate electrons effectively, and he will explore design challenges faced in designing synthetic mimics of the electron bifurcating and confurcating machinery of life.