A combined "electrochemical-frustrated Lewis pair" approach to hydrogen activation: surface catalytic effects at platinum electrodes

Herein, we extend our “combined electrochemical–frustrated Lewis pair” approach to include Pt electrode surfaces for the first time. We found that the voltammetric response of an electrochemical–frustrated Lewis pair (FLP) system involving the B(C6F5)3/[HB(C6F5)3]− redox couple exhibits a strong surface electrocatalytic effect at Pt electrodes. Using a combination of kinetic competition studies in the presence of a H atom scavenger, 6-bromohexene, and by changing the steric bulk of the Lewis acid borane catalyst from B(C6F5)3 to B(C6Cl5)3, the mechanism of electrochemical–FLP reactions on Pt surfaces was shown to be dominated by hydrogen-atom transfer (HAT) between Pt, [Pt[BOND]H] adatoms and transient [HB(C6F5)3]⋅ electrooxidation intermediates. These findings provide further insight into this new area of combining electrochemical and FLP reactions, and proffers additional avenues for exploration beyond energy generation, such as in electrosynthesis

Role of aromatic structure in pathways of hydrogen transfer and bond cleavage in coal liquefaction: Theoretical studies.

The mechanisms by which strong carbon-carbon bonds between aromatic rings and side chains are cleaved under hydropyrolysis conditions remain a subject of wide interest to fuel science. Recently, the authors have studied in detail an alternate pathway for hydrogen atom transfer to {pi}-systems, radical hydrogen transfer (RHT). RHT is the direct, bimolecular transfer of hydrogen from the {beta}-position of an organic radical to the target {pi}-system. In the initial theoretical study, they examined the reaction ethyl radical + ethylene = ethylene + ethyl at the spin-projected UMP2/6-31G** level of theory. Recently, they have used a calibrated ROHF-MNDO-PM3 method to predict thermoneutral RHT barriers for hydrogen transfer between hydroaryl radicals and the corresponding arene. Because of the inherent limitations of semiempirical methods such as ROHF-MNDO-PM3, they have extended the initial work with the ethyl + ethylene study to examine this reaction at the ROHF-MBPT[2]-6-31G** and ROHF-CCSD[T]-6-31G** levels of ab initio theory. The primary objective was to determine how intrinsic RHT barriers change with conjugative stabilization of the radicals. The spin-restricted ROHF approach has been applied to study several RHT reactions, and they present completed ROHF results for the ethyl + ethylene system and preliminary results for the methallyl + butadiene system. The methallyl + butadiene system serves as a model for highly stabilized hydroaryl radicals: the methallyl radical exhibits a C-H bond strength of 46.5 kcal/mol compared to 9-hydroanthracenyl, 43.1 kcal/mol

Investigation of the electronic and magnetic hyperfine properties of the copper(II) and zinc(II) complexes.

The treatment of cancer diseases are a dangerous world wide\ud problem that requires the usage of extreme techniques such as surgery and\ud the use of metallodrugs (pharmaceutical metal complexes). The most famous\ud antitumor metal complex is the cisplatin but it has several collateral effects\ud that cause injuries in the patients. This opens opportunity to research and\ud develop alternatives that could increase the efficiency or reduce the body\ud damage. However, metal complexes are a difficult class of compound to deal\ud with, often requiring theoretical methods to guide the characterization of the\ud molecules. We investigate the electronic and magnetic hyperfine properties\ud of the copper(ll) and zinc(ll) complexes of 2(3H)- Furanone,dihydro-3-\ud (hydroxyphenylmethyl)-4-[(1-methyl-1 H-imidazol-4-yl)methyi]-,[3S[\ud 3a(R*),4b]] (Epiisopiloturine) metal complex, an alkaloid that show activity\ud against cancer and schistosomiasis

Radical reaction control in the AdoMet radical enzyme CDG Synthase (QueE): consolidate, destabilize, accelerate

Controlling radical intermediates and thus catalysing and directing complex radical reactions is a central feature of S-adensosylmethionine (SAM)-dependent radical enzymes. We report ab initio and DFT calculations highlighting the specific influence of ion complexation, including Mg2+, identified as a key catalytic component on radical stability and reaction control in 7-carboxy-7-deazaguanine synthase (QueE). Radical stabilisation energies (RSEs) of key intermediates and radical clock-like model systems of the enzyme-catalysed rearrangement of 6-carboxytetrahydropterin (CPH4), reveals a directing role of Mg2+ in destabilising both the substrate-derived radical and corresponding side reactions, with the effect that the experimentally-observed rearrangement becomes dominant over possible alternatives. Importantly, this is achieved with minimal disruption of the thermodynamics of the substrate itself, affording a novel mechanism for an enzyme to both maintain binding potential and accelerate the rearrangement step. Other mono and divalent ions were probed with only dicationic species achieving the necessary radical conformation to facilitate the reaction

Effects of geminal methyl groups on the tunnelling rates in the ring opening of cyclopropylcarbinyl radical at cryogenic temperature

Article on the effects of geminal methyl groups on the tunnelling rates in the ring opening of cyclopropylcarbinyl radical at cryogenic temperature