Formation of a ruthenium(IV)-oxo complex by electron-transfer oxidation of a coordinatively saturated ruthenium(II) complex and detection of oxygen-rebound intermediates in C-H bond oxygenation

A coordinatively saturated ruthenium(II) complex having tetradentate tris(2-pyridylmethyl)amine (TPA) and bidentate 2,2'-bipyridine (bpy), [Ru(TPA)(bpy)](2+) (1), was oxidized by a Ce(IV) ion in H(2)O to afford a Ru(IV)-oxo complex, [Ru(O)(H(+)TPA)(bpy)](3+) (2). The crystal structure of the Ru(IV)-oxo complex 2 was determined by X-ray crystallography. In 2, the TPA ligand partially dissociates to be in a facial tridentate fashion and the uncoordinated pyridine moiety is protonated. The spin state of 2, which showed paramagnetically shifted NMR signals in the range of 60 to -20 ppm, was determined to be an intermediate spin (S = 1) by the Evans' method with (1)H NMR spectroscopy in acetone-d(6). The reaction of 2 with various oraganic substrates in acetonitrile at room temperature afforded oxidized and oxygenated products and a solvent-bound complex, [Ru(H(+)TPA)(bpy)(CH(3)CN)], which is intact in the presence of alcohols. The oxygenation reaction of saturated C-H bonds with 2 proceeds by two-step processes: the hydrogen abstraction with 2, followed by the dissociation of the alcohol products from the oxygen-rebound complexes, Ru(III)-alkoxo complexes, which were successfully detected by ESI-MS spectrometry. The kinetic isotope effects in the first step for the reaction of dihydroanthrathene (DHA) and cumene with 2 were determined to be 49 and 12, respectively. The second-order rate constants of C-H oxygenation in the first step exhibited a linear correlation with bond dissociation energies of the C-H bond cleavage.     

Ultrafast excitation transfer and charge stabilization in a newly assembled photosynthetic antenna-reaction center mimic composed of boron dipyrrin, zinc porphyrin and fullerene

A self-assembled supramolecular triad as a model to mimic the light-induced events of the photosynthetic antenna-reaction center, that is, ultrafast excitation transfer followed by electron transfer ultimately generating a long-lived charge-separated state, has been accomplished. Boron dipyrrin (BDP), zinc porphyrin (ZnP) and fullerene (C(60)), respectively, constitute the energy donor, electron donor and electron acceptor segments of the antenna-reaction center imitation. Unlike in the previous models, the BDP entity was placed between the electron donor, ZnP and electron acceptor, C(60) entities. For the construction, benzo-18-crown-6 functionalized BDP was synthesized and subsequently reacted with 3,4-dihydroxyphenyl functionalized ZnP through the central boron atom to form the crown-BDP-ZnP dyad. Next, an alkyl ammonium functionalized fullerene was used to self-assemble the crown ether entity of the dyad via ion-dipole interactions. The newly formed supramolecular triad was fully characterized by spectroscopic, computational and electrochemical methods. Steady-state fluorescence and excitation studies revealed the occurrence of energy transfer upon selective excitation of the BDP in the dyad. Further studies involving the pump-probe technique revealed excitation transfer from the (1)BDP* to ZnP to occur in about 7 ps, much faster than that reported for other systems in this series of triads, as a consequence of shorter distance between the entities. Upon forming the supramolecular triad by self-assembling fullerene, the (1)ZnP(*) produced by direct excitation or by energy transfer mechanism resulted in an initial electron transfer to the BDP entity. The charge recombination resulted in the population of the triplet excited state of C(60), from where additional electron transfer occurred to produce C(60)(?-):crown-BDP-ZnP(?+) ion pair as the final charge-separated species. Nanosecond transient absorption studies revealed the lifetime of the charge-separated state to be ~100 μs, the longest ever reported for this type of antenna-reaction center mimics, indicating better charge stabilization as a result of the different disposition of the entities of the supramolecular triad.     

Multiple photosynthetic reaction centres using zinc porphyrinic oligopeptide-fulleropyrrolidine supramolecular complexes

Multiple charge-separation sites have successfully been constructed using supramolecular complexes of multiporphyrinic oligopeptides [P(ZnP)(n), n = 2, 4, 8] with fulleropyrrolidine bearing a pyridine or imidazole coordinating ligand, which are organized by utilizing π-π interaction in addition to the coordination bond.     

Stepwise vs. concerted pathways in scandium ion-coupled electron transfer from superoxide ion to p-benzoquinone derivatives

Superoxide ion (O2˙-) forms a stable 1 : 1 complex with scandium hexamethylphosphoric triamide complex [Sc(HMPA)(3)(3+)], which can be detected in solution by ESR spectroscopy. Electron transfer from O2˙- -Sc(HMPA)(3)(3+) complex to a series of p-benzoquinone derivatives occurs, accompanied by binding of Sc(HMPA)(3)(3+) to the corresponding semiquinone radical anion complex to produce the semiquinone radical anion-Sc(HMPA)(3)(3+) complexes. The 1 : 1 and 1 : 2 complexes between semiquinone radical anions and Sc(HMPA)(3)(3+) depending on the type of semiquinone radical anions were detected by ESR measurements. This is defined as Sc(HMPA)(3)(3+)-coupled electron transfer. There are two reaction pathways in the Sc(HMPA)(3)(3+)-coupled electron transfer. One is a stepwise pathway in which the binding of Sc(HMPA)(3)(3+) to semiquinone radical anions occurs after the electron transfer, when the rate of electron transfer remains constant with the change in concentration of Sc(HMPA)(3)(3+). The other is a concerted pathway in which electron transfer and the binding of Sc(HMPA)(3)(3+) occurs in a concerted manner, when the rates of electron transfer exhibit first-order and second-order dependence on the concentration of Sc(HMPA)(3)(3+) depending the number of Sc(HMPA)(3)(3+) (one and two) bound to semiquinone radical anions. The contribution of two pathways changes depending on the substituents on p-benzoquinone derivatives. The present study provides the first example to clarify the kinetics and mechanism of metal ion-coupled electron-transfer reactions of the superoxide ion.     

Kinetic studies of retinol addition radicals

Retinol neutral radicals (RS-retinol˙), generated from the reaction of retinol with 4-pyridylthiyl and 2-pyridylthiyl radicals in argon-saturated methanol, undergo β-elimination, which can be monitored via the slow secondary absorption rise at 380 nm attributed to the rearrangement of the unstable retinol neutral addition radicals to the more stable addition radicals. Rate constants for the β-elimination reactions (k(β)) of 4-PyrS-retinol˙ were measured at different temperatures and the Arrhenius equation for the reaction is described by log (k(β)/s(-1)) = (12.7 ± 0.2) - (54.3 ± 1.3)/θ, where θ = 2.3RT kJ mol(-1). The reactivities of retinol addition radicals (RS-retinol˙), generated from the reaction of retinol with various thiyl radicals, towards oxygen have also been investigated in methanol. In the presence of oxygen, the decay of RS-retinol˙ fits to biexponential kinetics and both observed rate constants for the RS-retinol˙ decay are oxygen-concentration dependent. This suggests that at least two thiyl addition radicals, formed from the reaction of RS˙ with retinol, undergo oxygen addition reactions. In light of the estimated rate constants for oxygen addition to RS-retinol˙ and RS-CAR˙ (CAR: carotenoid), the antioxidant-prooxidant properties of retinol are discussed.     

X-Ray crystal structure of [HSm{V(IV)O(TPPS)}]n and encapsulation of nitrogen molecules in 1-D channels

The crystal structure of an N(2)-encapusulated MOF, which is stable under open-air conditions at ambient temperature, was determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction at 123 K. The crystal MOF of [HSm{V(IV)O(TPPS)}](n) designed to have 1-D channels periodically constricted by porphyrins planes adsorbed N(2) at 77 K. The adsorbed N(2) molecules remained in the 1-D channels even after warming to ambient temperature. The single-crystal structure of [HSm{V(IV)O(TPPS)}](n)?N(2) determined by X-ray diffraction indicated that N(2) molecules trapped in the constricted parts block other N(2) molecules in 1-D channels from escaping from the MOF. Such a unique encapsulation mode provides a promising approach toward designing novel MOFs with high gas storage capacity at ambient temperature.     

Brønsted base-assisted boronic acid catalysis for the dehydrative intramolecular condensation of dicarboxylic acids

Br?nsted base-assisted boronic acid catalysis for the dehydrative self-condensation of carboxylic acids is described. Arylboronic acid bearing bulky (N,N-dialkylamino)methyl groups at the 2,6-positions can catalyze the intramolecular dehydrative condensation of di- and tetracarboxylic acids. This is the first successful method for the catalytic dehydrative self-condensation of carboxylic acids.     

Photochemical charge separation in closely positioned donor-boron dipyrrin-fullerene triads

A series of molecular triads, composed of closely positioned boron dipyrrin-fullerene units, covalently linked to either an electron donor (donor(1)-acceptor(1)-acceptor(2)-type triads) or an energy donor (antenna-donor(1)-acceptor(1)-type triads) was synthesized and photoinduced energy/electron transfer leading to stabilization of the charge-separated state was demonstrated by using femtosecond and nanosecond transient spectroscopic techniques. The structures of the newly synthesized triads were visualized by DFT calculations, whereas the energies of the excited states were determined from spectral and electrochemical studies. In the case of the antenna-donor(1)-acceptor(1)-type triads, excitation of the antenna moiety results in efficient energy transfer to the boron dipyrrin entity. The singlet-excited boron dipyrrin thus generated, undergoes subsequent energy and electron transfer to fullerene to produce a boron dipyrrin radical cation and a fullerene radical anion as charge-separated species. Stabilization of the charge-separated state in these molecular triads was observed to some extent.