Electrons from hydrogen 

 -  Chem. Commun., 21(23), p.3317-3325, 2009 .
<br/><br/> The growing need for hydrogen-based fuel cells has driven research into hydrogenase (H2ase)-a natural enzyme that catalyses the extraction of electrons from H2 in water under ambient conditions. Unfortunately, the exact mechanism by which H2ase achieves this feat has remained a matter of some controversy until now, with many mechanisms being inconsistent with experimental data. Recently, however, we have been able to produce a successful catalytic mimic of H2ase that replicates key aspects of it. This paper begins with an overview of the research from many groups that preceded this discovery, followed by a detailed analysis of the key points that set our unique functional model apart-that is to say a proton-like ''hydride'' species, a surprisingly low-valent NiIRuI complex and the key insight that two molecules of H2 are required for electron extraction.