Electron transfer with metals

The ability of a metal to act as an electron donor or acceptor is very dependent upon the type and arrangement of the ligands surrounding the metal. This is true thermodynamically and kinetically. The electron density at the metal is ligand-de-pendent as is the overall stability of the complex. The ease of electron-transfer process itself is dependent not only upon the reduction potential but also the geometry of the complex because of Franck-Condon restrictions. 

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Photooxidation of coordinated oxalate has been known since the earliest studies of transition metal photochemistry (42). In these reactions oxalate ligand is photooxidized to CO2, and up to two metal centers are reduced by one electron (e.g. ferrioxalate). We wondered whether the oxalate ligand could be a two-electron photoreductant, by simultaneous or rapid sequential electron transfer, with metals prone to 2e redox processes. Application of this concept to l6e square planar d complexes, Equation 15, was attractive because it should produce solvated I4e metal complexes that are inorganic analogues of... 

Reactions involving the peroxodisulfate ion are usually slow at ca 20°C. The peroxodisulfate ion decomposes into free radicals, which are initiators for numerous chain reactions. These radicals act either thermally or by electron transfer with transition-metal ions or reducing agents (79). 

Although there is a huge body of research on the kinetics of outer-sphere electron-transfer reactions of mononuclear transition-metal complexes, there are only a small number of papers on dinuclear systems. When the valences of the two metal centers are localized, current evidence indicates that the metal centers typically react essentially independently. On the other hand, for delocalized systems this can hardly be the case. Experimental study of electron transfer with such... 

Electron transfer between metal centers can alter the course of reaction in several ways (46). Thermal excitation may create especially reactive electron holes on the oxide surface, causing reductant molecules to be consumed at the surface at a higher rate. More importantly, electrons deposited on surface sites by organic reductants may be transferred to metal centers within the bulk oxide (47). This returns the surface site to its original oxidation state, allowing further reaction with reductant molecules to occur without release of reduced metal ions. Electron transfer between metal centers may therefore cause changes in bulk oxide composition and delay the onset of dissolution. 

The theory of homogeneous electron transfer processes, as well as of the closely-related electron exchanges with metallic electrodes, has been the subject of considerable study. The proposal by Hush and by Marcus that these processes are, for simple systems, either usually electronically adiabatic or... 

We examine an electron transfer of hydrated redox particles (outer-sphere electron transfer) on metal electrodes covered with a thick film, as shown in Fig. 8-41, with an electron-depleted space charge layer on the film side of the film/solution interface and an ohmic contact at the metal/film interface. It appears that no electron transfer may take place at electron levels in the band gap of the film, since the film is sufficiently thick. Instead, electron transfer takes place at electron levels in the conduction and valence bands of the film. 

Fig. 8-43. Anodic and cathodic polarization curves observed for a redox electron transfer at metallic tin electrodes covered with an anodic oxide Sn02 film of various thicknesses d in a basic solution reaction is a redox electron transfer of 0.25 M Fe(CN)6 A).25 M Fe(CN)6 in 0.2 M borate buffer solution of pH 9.1 at 25°C. d = film thickness dj = 2 nm ...

Small metal particles are frequently expected (however, the evidence is sometimes questionable) to experience an electron transfer with the carrier, which modifies the adsorption and catalytic properties of the metal particles [sometimes called the Schwab effect (108-116)]. In other cases, by special conditions under preparations of the catalysts, a so-called strong metal support interaction effect (SMSI) (117-121) was evoked. In particular, with zeolites as carriers, there are pieces of experimental evidence reported (115, 116) in support of the existence of such transfer (for remarks on those conclusions, see 122, 123). 

At present there is a sufficiently complete picture of photoelectrochemical behavior of the most important semiconductor materials. This is not, however, the only merit of photoelectrochemistry of semiconductors. First, photoelectrochemistry of semiconductors has stimulated the study of photoprocesses on materials, which are not conventional for electrochemistry, namely on insulators (Mehl and Hale, 1967 Gerischer and Willig, 1976). The basic concepts and mathematical formalism of electrochemistry and photoelectrochemistry of semiconductors have successfully been used in this study. Second, photoelectrochemistry of semiconductors has provided possibilities, unique in certain cases, of studying thermodynamic and kinetic characteristics of photoexcited particles in the solution and electrode, and also processes of electron transfer with these particles involved. (Note that the processes of quenching of photoexcited reactants often prevent from the performing of such investigations on metal electrodes.) The study of photo-electrochemical processes under the excitation of the electron-hole ensemble of a semiconductor permits the direct experimental verification of the applicability of the Fermi quasilevel concept to the description of electron transitions at an interface. 

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