Electronic structure reduction

Another set of arbitarily chosen boundary conditions concerns the list of physical and chemical properties that are summarized or discussed. The areas under consideration concern structural properties and their relationship to kinetic stability (toward hydrolysis and racemization), electronic structure, reduction potentials, and electron transfer processes. 

Nitric oxide is the simplest thermally stable odd-electron molecule known and, accordingly, its electronic structure and reaction chemistry have been very extensively studied. The compound is an intermediate in the production of nitric acid and is prepared industrially by the catalytic oxidation of ammonia (p. 466). On the laboratory scale it can be synthesized from aqueous solution by the mild reduction of acidified nitrites with iodide or ferrocyanide or by the disproportionation of nitrous acid in the presence of dilute sulfuric acid ... 

The electronic absorption spectra of the products of one-electron electrochemical reduction of the iron(III) phenyl porphyrin complexes have characteristics of both iron(II) porphyrin and iron(III) porphyrin radical anion species, and an electronic structure involving both re.sonance forms Fe"(Por)Ph] and tFe "(Por—)Ph has been propo.sed. Chemical reduction of Fe(TPP)R to the iron(II) anion Fe(TPP)R) (R = Et or /7-Pr) was achieved using Li BHEt3 or K(BH(i-Bu)3 as the reductant in benzene/THF solution at room temperature in the dark. The resonances of the -propyl group in the F NMR spectrum of Fe(TPP)(rt-Pr) appear in the upfield positions (—0.5 to —6.0 ppm) expected for a diamagnetic porphyrin complex. This contrasts with the paramagnetic, 5 = 2 spin state observed... 

The different classes of Ru-based catalysts, including crystalline Chevrel-phase chalcogenides, nanostructured Ru, and Ru-Se clusters, and also Ru-N chelate compounds (RuNj), have been reviewed recently by Lee and Popov [29] in terms of the activity and selectivity toward the four-electron oxygen reduction to water. The conclusion was drawn that selenium is a critical element controlling the catalytic properties of Ru clusters as it directly modifies the electronic structure of the catalytic reaction center and increases the resistance to electrochemical oxidation of interfacial Ru atoms in acidic environments. 

Compared with monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and the five-membered azaarenes, the pathways used for the degradation of pyridines are less uniform, and this is consistent with the differences in electronic structure and thereby their chemical reactivity. For pyridines, both hydroxylation and dioxygenation that is typical of aromatic compounds have been observed, although these are often accompanied by reduction of one or more of the double bonds in the pyridine ring. Examples are used to illustrate the metabolic possibilities. 

Great promise exists in the use of graphitic carbons in the electrochemical synthesis of hydrogen peroxide [reaction (15.21)] and in the electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide to various organic products. Considering the diversity in structures and surface forms of carbonaceous materials, it is difficult to formulate generalizations as to the influence of their chemical and electron structure on the kinetics and mechanism of electrochemical reactions occurring at carbon electrodes. 

Stamenkovic V, Mun BS, Mayrhofer KJJ, Ross PN, Markovic NM, Rossmeisl J, Greeley J, Nprskov JK. 2006. Changing the activity of electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction by tuning the surface electronic structure. Angew Chem Int Ed 45 2897. 

PEMFC)/direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) cathode limit the available sites for reduction of molecular oxygen. Alternatively, at the anode of a PEMFC or DMFC, the oxidation of water is necessary to produce hydroxyl or oxygen species that participate in oxidation of strongly bound carbon monoxide species. Taylor and co-workers [Taylor et ah, 2007b] have recently reported on a systematic study that examined the potential dependence of water redox reactions over a series of different metal electrode surfaces. For comparison purposes, we will start with a brief discussion of electronic structure studies of water activity with consideration of UHV model systems. 

Figure 8.12 Relationships between the catalytic properties and electronic structure of Pt3M alloys correlation between the specific activity for the oxygen reduction reaction measured experimentally by a rotating disk electrode on Pt3M surfaces in 0.1 M HCIO4 at 333 K and 1600 lev/min versus the li-band center position for (a) Pt-skin and (b) Pt-skeleton surfaces. (Reprinted with permission from Stamenkovic et al. [2007b]. Copyright 2007. Nature Pubhshing Group.)...

Interpreting these results on a detailed molecular basis is difficult because we have at present no direct structural data proving the nature of the split Co(IIl/lI) voltammetry (which seems critical to the electrocatalytic efficacy). Experiments on the dissolved monomeric porphyrin, in CH-C solvent, reveal a strong tendency for association, especially for the tetra(o-aminophenyl)porphyrin. From this observation, we have speculated (3) that the split Co(III/II) wave may represent reactivity of non-associated (dimer ) and associated forms of the cobalt tetra(o-aminophenyl)porphyrins, and that these states play different roles in the dioxygen reduction chemistry. That dimeric cobalt porphyrins in particular can yield more efficient four electron dioxygen reduction pathways is well known (24). Our results suggest that efforts to incorporate more structurally well defined dimeric porphyrins into polymer films may be a worthwhile line of future research. 

Although FEP is mostly useful for binding type of simulations rather than chemical reactions, it can be valuable for reduction potential and pKa calculations, which are of interest from many perspectives. For example, prediction of reliable pKa values of key groups can be used as a criterion for establishing a reliable microscopic model for complex systems. Technically, FEP calculation with QM/MM potentials is complicated by the fact that QM potentials are non-seperable [78], When the species subject to perturbation (A B) differ mainly in electronic structure but similar in nuclear connectivity (e.g., an oxidation-reduction pair), we find it is beneficial to use the same set of nuclear geometry for the two states [78], i.e., the coupling potential function has the form,... 

In the process of their reduction, technetium ions unite to form increasingly large clusters. Fig. 1 shows the molecular structures of these clusters, Fig. 6 shows the results of the calculation of their electronic structure in terms of the EHT method [113]. 

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