Intramolecular change transfer process

Poly(aryl ether) branches of generation 1 to 3 have been appended to a pho-totautomerizable quinoHne core to investigate the effect of dendritic architecture on the excited state intramolecular proton transfer [45]. The changes observed in the absorption and emission spectra on increasing dendrimer generation indicate that the dendritic branches affect the planarity of the core and therefore the efficiency of the excited state intramolecular proton transfer and of the related fluorescence processes. 

The interconversion between different spin states is closely related to the intersystem crossing process in excited states of transition-metal complexes. Hence, much of the interest in the rates of spin-state transitions arises from their relevance to a better understanding of intersystem crossing phenomena. The spin-state change can alternatively be described as an intramolecular electron transfer reaction [34], Therefore, rates of spin-state transitions may be employed to assess the effect of spin multiplicity changes on electron transfer rates. These aspects have been covered in some detail elsewhere [30]. 

The model shown in Scheme 2 indicates that a change in the formal oxidation state of the metal is not necessarily required during the catalytic reaction. This raises a fundamental question. Does the metal ion have to possess specific redox properties in order to be an efficient catalyst A definite answer to this question cannot be given. Nevertheless, catalytic autoxidation reactions have been reported almost exclusively with metal ions which are susceptible to redox reactions under ambient conditions. This is a strong indication that intramolecular electron transfer occurs within the MS"+ and/or MS-O2 precursor complexes. Partial oxidation or reduction of the metal center obviously alters the electronic structure of the substrate and/or dioxygen. In a few cases, direct spectroscopic or other evidence was reported to prove such an internal charge transfer process. This electronic distortion is most likely necessary to activate the substrate and/or dioxygen before the actual electron transfer takes place. For a few systems where deviations from this pattern were found, the presence of trace amounts of catalytically active impurities are suspected to be the cause. In other words, the catalytic effect is due to the impurity and not to the bulk metal ion in these cases. 

Kelley and co-workers [70, 71] measured the dynamics of the excited-state intramolecular proton transfer in 3-hydroxyflavone and a series of its derivatives as a function of solvent (Scheme 2.9). The energy changes associated with the processes examined are of the order of 3 kcal/mol or less. The model they employed in the analysis of the reaction dynamics was based upon a tunneling reaction path. Interestingly, they find little or no deuterium kinetic isotope effect, which would appear to be inconsistent with tunneling theories. For 3-hydroxy-flavone, they suggest the lack of an isotope effect is due to a very large... 

Redox reactions usually lead, however, to a marked change in the species, as reactions 4-6 indicate. Important reactions involve the oxidation of organic and metalloprotein substrates (reactions 5 and 6) by oxidizing complex ions. Here the substrate often has ligand properties, and the first step in the overall process appears to be complex formation between the metal and substrate species. Redox reactions will often then be phenomenologically associated with substitution. After complex formation, the redox reaction can occur in a variety of ways, of which a direct intramolecular electron transfer within the adduct is the most obvious. 

In order to perform controlled and reversible movements and to behave as a machine, the envisaged molecular system should have a mobile and a fixed component one of the components should be redox active and the oxidized and reduced states should have almost comparable stability and should be connected by a reversible, and possibly fast, electron transfer process. The two oxidation states should display a different topological affinity with respect to the other component, so that a redox change can induce a modification of the topology of the whole molecular system, generating an intramolecular motion. The occurrence of fast and reversible movements also requires that the interaction between the mobile and the fixed part is based on... 

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