Evidence for Interchange Ligand‐Exchange Processes on Solvated Beryllium Cations

The ligand‐exchange mechanism of solvated Be²⁺ cations has been studied by means of DFT calculations (RB3LYP/6‐311+G**). Ligand exchange around [BeL₄]²⁺, where L=H₂O, NH₃, CO₂, formaldehyde (H₂CO), HCN, N₂, and CO, was found to follow an associative interchange (I_a) process in all cases. The size of the activation barrier is almost independent of the type of donor atom, and depends mainly on the hybridization undergone by the donor atom. This, in turn, suggests that steric effects play a major role in solvent‐ and ligand‐exchange reactions in Be²⁺ systems.     

Kinetics and mechanism of the Co(II)-assisted oxidation of thioureas by dioxygen

Catalytic oxidation of N,N'-dimethylthiourea and thiourea by dioxygen in water using a new cobalt(II) complex of octasulfophenyltetrapyrazinoporphyrazine was performed under mild conditions. The reaction is shown to include the formation of an intermediate anionic five-coordinate complex followed by an unusual two-electron oxidation to produce the corresponding urea and elemental sulfur (S8). Kinetic and thermodynamic parameters for the different reaction steps of the process were determined. Drastic differences in catalytic activity of cobalt and iron octasulfophenyltetrapyrazinoporphyrazines were observed.     

pH controls the rate and mechanism of nitrosylation of water-soluble FeIII porphyrin complexes

In-depth kinetic and mechanistic studies on the reversible binding of NO to water-soluble iron(III) porphyrins as a function of pH revealed unexpected reaction kinetics for monohydroxo-ligated (P)Fe(III)(OH) species formed by deprotonation of coordinated water in diaqua-ligated (P)Fe(III)(H(2)O)(2). The observed significant decrease in the rate of NO binding to (P)Fe(OH) as compared to that of (P)Fe(H(2)O)(2) does not conform with expectations based on previous mechanistic work on NO-heme interactions, which would point to a diffusion-limited reaction for the five-coordinate Fe(III) center in (P)Fe(OH). The decrease in rate and an associatively activated mode of NO binding observed at high pH is ascribed to an increase in the activation barrier related to spin state and structural changes accompanying NO coordination to the high-spin (P)Fe(III)(OH) complex. The existence of such a barrier has previously been observed in the reactions of five-coordinate iron(II) hemes with CO and is evidenced for the first time for the process involving coordination of NO to the iron heme complex. The observed reactivity pattern, relevant in the context of studies on NO interactions with synthetic and biologically important hemes (in particular, hemoproteins), is reported here for an example of a simple water-soluble iron(III) porphyrin [meso-tetrakis(sulfonatomesityl)porphinato]-iron(III), (TMPS)Fe(III).     

Solvation largely accounts for the effect of N-alkylation on the properties of nickel(II/I) and chromium(III/II) cyclam complexes

The source of the effect of N-alkylation on the redox properties of Ni(II/I) and Cr(III/II) cyclam complexes has been investigated using DFT calculations. The structures of the anhydrous and hydrated complexes were optimized in the gas phase, and single point calculations were performed in a polarized continuum. The main results are the following: the decrease in outer sphere solvation upon N-alkylation is the major source of the relative stabilization of the lower oxidation state complexes by the tertiary amine ligands; tertiary amine nitrogen donors are stronger sigma-donors than the secondary amines, as predicted from the inductive effect of alkyls; steric strain elongates the metal-nitrogen bonds in the tertiary complexes and decreases the ligand strain energies; and the site of water binding to the complexes differs because of their different electronic structures (i.e., in the Ni complexes, the water molecules bind to the M[bond]N[bond]H sites, whereas in the Cr complexes they bind to the central metal cation). Outer sphere hydrogen bonding of water to the ligands in the coordination sphere lowers the ionization potentials by charge delocalization.     

Kinetic and mechanistic studies on the reaction of nitric oxide with a water-soluble octa-anionic iron(III) porphyrin complex

The polyanionic water-soluble and non-mu-oxo-dimer-forming iron porphyrin iron(III) 5(4),10(4),15(4),20(4)-tetra-tert-butyl-5(2),5(6),15(2),15(6)-tetrakis[2,2-bis(carboxylato)ethyl]-5,10,15,20-tetraphenylporphyrin, (P(8-))Fe(III) (1), was synthesized as an octasodium salt by applying well-established porphyrin and organic chemistry procedures to bromomethylated precursor porphyrins and characterized by standard techniques such as UV-vis and (1)H NMR spectroscopy. A single pK(a1) value of 9.26 was determined for the deprotonation of coordinated water in (P(8-))Fe(III)(H(2)O)(2) (1-H(2)()O) present in aqueous solution at pH <9. The porphyrin complex reversibly binds NO in aqueous solution to give the mononitrosyl adduct, (P(8-))Fe(II)(NO(+))(L), where L = H(2)O or OH(-). The kinetics of the binding and release of NO was studied as a function of pH, temperature, and pressure by stopped-flow and laser flash photolysis techniques. The diaqua-ligated form of the porphyrin complex binds and releases NO according to a dissociative interchange mechanism based on the positive values of the activation parameters DeltaS() and DeltaV() for the "on" and "off" reactions. The rate constant k(on) = 6.2 x 10(4) M(-1) s(-1) (24 degrees C), determined for NO binding to the monohydroxo-ligated (P(8-))Fe(III)(OH) (1-OH) present in solution at pH >9, is markedly lower than the corresponding value measured for 1-H(2)O at lower pH (k(on) = 8.2 x 10(5) M(-1) s(-1), 24 degrees C, pH 7). The observed decrease in the reactivity is contradictory to that expected for the diaqua- and monohydroxo-ligated forms of the iron(III) complex and is accounted for in terms of a mechanistic changeover observed for 1-H(2)O and 1-OH in their reactions with NO. The mechanistic interpretation offered is further substantiated by the results of water-exchange studies performed on the polyanionic porphyrin complex as a function of pH, temperature, and pressure.     

Kinetic and thermodynamic studies on ligand substitution reactions and base-on/base-off equilibria of cyanoimidazolylcobamide, a vitamin B12 analog with an imidazole axial nucleoside

Ligand substitution reactions of the vitamin B12 analog cyanoimidazolylcobamide, CN(Im)Cbl, with cyanide were studied. Cyanide substitutes imidazole (Im) in the alpha-position more slowly than it substitutes dimethylbenzimidazole in cyanocobalamin (vitamin B12). The kinetics of the displacement of Im by CN- showed saturation behaviour at high cyanide concentration; the limiting rate constant was found to be 0.0264 s(-1) at 25 degrees C and is characterized by the activation parameters: DeltaH(not =) = 111 +/- 2 kJ mol(-1), DeltaS(not =) = +97 +/- 6 J K(-1) mol(-1), and DeltaV(not =) = +9.3 +/- 0.3 cm3 mol(-1). These parameters are interpreted in terms of an I(d) mechanism. The equilibrium constant for the reaction of CN(Im)Cbl with CN- was found to be 861 +/- 75 M(-1), which is significantly less than that obtained for the reaction of cyanocobalamin with CN- (viz. 10(4) M(-1)). pKbase-off for the base-on/base-off equilibrium was determined spectrophotometrically and found to be 0.99 +/- 0.05, which is about 0.9 pH units higher than that obtained previously in the case of cyanocobalamin. In addition, the kinetics of the base-on/base-off reaction was studied using a pH-jump technique and the data obtained revealed evidence for an acid catalyzed reaction path. The results obtained in this study are discussed in reference to those reported previously for cyanocobalamin.