Solvent reorganization energy of electron-transfer reactions in polar solvents

A microscopic theory of solvent reorganization energy in polar molecular solvents is developed. The theory represents the solvent response as a combination of the density and polarization fluctuations of the solvent given in terms of the density and polarization structure factors. A fully analytical formulation of the theory is provided for a solute of arbitrary shape with an arbitrary distribution of charge. A good agreement between the analytical procedure and the results of Monte Carlo simulations of model systems is achieved. The reorganization energy splits into the contributions from density fluctuations and polarization fluctuations. The polarization part is dominated by longitudinal polarization response. The density part is inversely proportional to temperature. The dependence of the solvent reorganization energy on the solvent dipole moment and refractive index is discussed.     

Intermolecular photoinduced electron-transfer of 1,8-naphthalimides in protic polar solvents

The intermolecular photoinduced electron transfer (PET) processes of 1,8-naphthalimide (NI) derivatives including NI-linker-phenothiazine dyads were investigated in a protic H(2)O/CH(3)CN (v/v=1:1) solvent using ns-laser flash photolysis with 355 nm-laser excitation. NI derivatives are surrounded by H(2)O in the ground state in H(2)O/CH(3)CN. The T(1)-T(n) absorption band of (3)NI* was observed at around 470 nm. The transient absorption band at around 410 nm increased concomitantly with the decay of (3)NI* in H(2)O/CH(3)CN. This implies that hydrated NI anion radical (NI*(-)) is primarily generated via the quenching of (3)NI* by NI at the diffusion control rate. This intermolecular PET did not occur in aprotic CH(3)CN. The formation and decay times of NI*(-) showed strong dependence on the concentration of NI. Then, we suggest that NI*(-) could undergo proton abstraction to give ketyl radical species of NI [NI(H)*] in H(2)O/CH(3)CN.     

Energetics of electron transfer reactions in polar solvents

The free energy change of an electron transfer reaction in a polar solvent is rigorously analyzed within the framework of the dielectric continuum model. An appropriate expression for the electrostatic energy between the two product ions separated by R is derived. The present result does not support a recent claim by Suppan that, if R is close to the contact distance, the electrostatic energy should be much larger in magnitude than estimated from the usual expression −e²/ε_sR.     

Selectivity of monomeric metaphosphate reactions with alcohols in polar aprotic solvents

Evidence is presented for selectivity in the reaction of metaphosphate, PO₃^?, with methanol in preference to t-butanol in acetonitrile solution. In dichloromethane solution there is also evidence for preferential nucleophilic solvation of reactant by methanol $\text{vs.}$ t-butanol.     

Dispersion polymerization in polar solvents

The effect of the nitrogen purge, monomer purification, type of agitation, and presence of costabilizer on the particle size distribution (PSD) was investigated in the dispersion po-lymerization of styrene in ethanol and in the dispersion copolymerization of styrene and butyl acrylate in a water–ethanol mixture. Purging with nitrogen and, to a lesser extent, monomer purification, were of paramount importance to achieve monodispersity. The type of agitation had a week effect on the PSD, whereas the presence of costabilizer had no effect on the PSD. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Capsule-like assemblies in polar solvents

Calix[4]arene derivatives with four anionic groups at their upper rim form discrete 1:1 complexes with complementary calix[4]arene derivatives bearing four cationic groups at their upper rim. Each cation is bound by two anions, and vice versa, in a mutual chelate arrangement, reinforced by a network of ionic hydrogen bonds. These multiple electrostatic interactions lead to the formation of highly stable capsule-like assemblies even in polar protic solvents such as methanol and water. In the capsule interior a cavity is formed that is in principle large enough for the encapsulation of small aliphatic and aromatic guests (170-230 A(3)). Monte Carlo simulations in water reproducibly lead to the same regular opimized structures. These differ mainly by their inner volume and flexibility, as demonstrated by molecular dynamics calculations. Most half-spheres can be synthesized by way of the tetrakis(chloromethyl) or the tetrabromocalix[4]arene intermediate. Oppositely charged calix[6]arenes also form strong complexes, but no indication was found for a lock in the cone conformation. The formation of the ball-shaped complexes from calix[4]arene building blocks was studied with Job plots, NMR titrations, NOESY, and variable-temperature experiments, as well as ESI-MS measurements. Investigations aimed at the inclusion of various guest molecules were carried out with alcohols, sulfoxides, benzene derivatives, and ammonium, as well as pyrazinium guests. Although binding isotherms were generated with cationic guests, these must be considered to be loosely associated around the seam rather than included inside the capsule.     

Theory of kinetics of electron exchange reactions in a polar medium

Conclusions An estimate was made of the effective distance of charge transfer and the effective frequency of the solvent polarization fluctuations from an analysis of the experimental activation energies of a number of symmetrical redox reactions between complex ions.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 9, pp. 2155–2157, September, 1973.     

Supramolecular assemblies for light-induced electron-transfer reactions

In this paper, we present a summary of our work on highly photostable supramolecular ruthenium complexes, which may be incorporated into more complex systems for artificial solar energy conversion. We have used supramolecular chemistry and photochemistry to synthesize highly photostable ruthenium bipyridine coronates and a bipyridazine podate complex and to enhance photoelectron-transfer reactions in physical model systems for artificial photosynthesis. The recent progress of covalent and non-covalent sensitizer-relay assemblies for highly efficient photoelectron transfer is described.

A detailed mechanistic investigation of the binding behavior of cationic species to crow-ether-modified bipyridine derivatives is presented as an example of supramolecular binding in systems for photoelectron transfer. The host properties of the free ligands and the derived bis-heteroleptic ruthenium complexes are compared using UV—visible, luminescence quenching and proton nuclear magnetic resonance titrations. The combination of these three methods confirms that supramolecular binding of cations and the electron relay methylviologen (MV²⁺) to the complexes can be observed. The binding constants determined are of the order of (1–6) × 10⁴ 1 mol⁻¹ for the crown-ether ruthenium complexes and 1 × 10²−4 × 10³ 1 mol⁻³ for the crown-ether ligands. Single-photon-counting (SPC) investigations give strong indications for the coexistence of different binding mechanisms. The kinetic scheme of Yekta et al. has been adapted to interpret the binding mechanism.     

Solvent dynamics effect in condensed-phase electron-transfer reactions

Channel-based reaction-diffusion equations are solved analytically for two electron transfer (ET) models, where the fast inner-sphere coordinate leads to an ET reaction treated by Fermi's golden rule, and the slow solvent coordinate moves via diffusion. The analytic solution has let us derive an ET rate constant that modifies the Marcus-Jortner formula by adding a constant alpha which we call a dynamic correction factor. The dynamic correction factor measures the effect of solvent friction. When the relaxation of solvent dynamics is fast, the dynamic correction can be neglected and the ET rate constant reduces to the traditional Marcus-Jortner formula. If the solvent dynamic relaxation is slow, the dynamic correction can be very large and the ET rate can be reduced by orders of magnitude. Using a generalized Zusman-Sumi-Marcus model as a starting point, we introduce two variants, GZSM-A and GZSM-B, where in model A, only one quantum mode is considered for inner-sphere motion and in model B, a classical mode for inner-sphere motion is added. By comparing the two models with experimental data, it is shown that model B is better than model A. For the solvents that have a relaxation time ranging between 0 and 5 ps, our result agrees fairly well with experimental data; for the solvents that have a relaxation time ranging between 5 and 40 ps, our result deviates from the experimental values. After introducing an adjustable scaling index in the effective time correlation function of the reaction coordinate, good agreement is achieved between the experiment and the theory for model B for all of the solvents studied in this paper.     

Self-assembly of molecular capsules in polar solvents

[structure: see text] We present a novel type of molecular capsule formed by self-organization of calix[4]arenes with several oppositely charged functional groups located at their upper rims. In highly polar solvents, the complementary half-spheres form stable 1:1 complexes with association constants of up to 7 x 10(5) M(-)(1) in methanol. The cavity inside the capsules is large enough for the inclusion of small aliphatic or (hetero)aromatic guest molecules.     

Confinement of polar solvents within beta-cyclodextrins

Using molecular dynamics techniques, we examined equilibrium and dynamical characteristics pertaining to the solvation of a single beta-cyclodextrin (CD) in water and in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO). Compared to its global minimum structure, the overall shape of the solute in solution is reasonably well preserved. While in aqueous solutions, the average number of solvent molecules retained within the central cavity of the oligosaccharide is close to 5, for DMSO, that number reduces to approximately 1. No evidence of significant orientational correlations of the trapped molecules were found in either solvent. The main contributions to the hydrogen-bond (HB) connectivity between the solute and the bulk phases are due to the more distal HO6-O6 hydroxyl groups, acting as HB donors and acceptors. The average residence time for retained DMSO was found to be in the nanosecond range, and it is, at least, 1 order of magnitude longer that the one observed for water. We also analyzed the characteristics of the solvation of the beta-CD in an equimolar water-DMSO mixture. In this environment, we found a preferential localization of a single DMSO molecule in the interior of the CD and a very minor retention of water. In the mixture, the characteristic time of residence of the trapped DMSO molecule increases by a factor of approximately 2. The observed difference was rationalized in terms of the fluctuations of the local concentrations of the two species in the vicinity of the CD top and bottom rims.     

Hydrogen-bonded capsules in polar,protic solvents

A kinetically stable, dimeric capsule is formed by tetrahydroxyresorcinarene in methanol; it encapsulates tropylium and tetramethylammonium cations.     

Rate of homogeneous electron-transfer in self-exchange reactions of methylviologen

The rate of the self-exchange reactions between 1,1′-dimethyl-4,4′-bipyridinium diperchlorate (methylviologen, MV²⁺) and its one-electron reduction product (MV⁺•) and between MV⁺• and the two-electron reduction product (MV) is measured from the broadening of the lines in the ESR-spectrum of MV⁺• in DMF. The bond and solvent reorganization energies λ(O) of these reactions are calculated.     

Self-organization of spheroidal molecular assemblies in polar solvents

[reaction: see text] We report a number of 1:1 noncovalent complexes composed of a symmetrical trisphosphonate and various symmetrical trisammonium or trisamidinium compounds. The spheroidal complexes show high thermodynamic stability, with association constants Ka reaching 10(6) M(-1) in methanol and in some cases even exceeding 10(3) M(-1) in water. The observed Ka values correlate well with the different degree of preorganization of the complexation partners.     

Dispersion of cellulose nanocrystals in polar organic solvents

In an attempt to prepare stable dispersions of cellulose nanocrystals in dipolar aprotic solvents, dilute aqueous suspensions of cellulose nanocrystals were prepared by sulfuric acid hydrolysis of cotton. The aqueous suspensions were freeze-dried, and then sonicated in the solvent of interest. Dispersions of 1 and 3% w/v concentration were prepared in polar organic solvents DMSO and DMF. The dispersions showed flow birefringence. The redispersion was incomplete, and there was some evidence for aggregation in the suspensions. A small amount of water appeared to be critical to suspension stability. Birefringent cellulose films were prepared from the dispersions by drying under vacuum and at ambient conditions.