In cellular respiration, O2 is used as a final electron receptor an turns into 2H2O. To do that, it should be turned into O+O (Not sure). So what is the enzyme or the biophysical process that do this? All steps of cellular respiration are known, but I was told that the answer of this question is unknown, but I am not sure about that.
Tip (I think it may help): NADPH oxidase, an enzyme that can be found in the plasma membrane as well as in the membranes of phagosomes used by neutrophil white blood cells to engulf microorganisms. It generates superoxide by transferring electrons from NADPH inside the cell across the membrane and coupling these to molecular oxygen to produce superoxide anion, a reactive free-radical.
Thanks a lot in advance.
The conversion of O2 to H2O is catalyzed by cytochrome c oxidase (complex IV), as described here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cytochrome_c_oxidase#Biochemistry
Look at the following review for cytochrome c oxidase, the site of O2 reduction.
Reaction Mechanism of Cytochrome c Oxidase
Shinya Yoshikawa and Atsuhiro Shimada
Chem. Rev., 2015, 115 (4), pp 1936–1989
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