Ion and proton-transfer

Ion- and proton-transfer reactions are almost always preceded or followed by other reaction steps. We first consider only the charge-transfer step itself. 

A 3 2 mixture of cis-trans isomers is obtained from the addition of secondary amines to butadiyne in dioxane . The ratio remains constant during the course of the reaction signifying that the isomers are formed in this ratio. This, coupled with the second-order kinetics observed and large negative values for the activation entropy (AS — 50 e.u.), led to the postulation of a mechanism involving ratedetermining attack by the amine on the diyne, followed by stereochemical equilibration of the dipolar ion and proton transfer, as illustrated in Scheme 7. 

Electron, ion, and proton transfer reactions have been modeled by several groups as prototypical reactions at the electrochemical interface. 

Outer sphere electron transfer (e.g., [11-19,107,160-162]), ion transfer [10,109,163,164] and proton transfer [165] are among the reactions near electrodes and the hquid/liquid interface which have been studied by computer simulation. Much of this work has been reviewed recently [64,111,125,126] and will not be repeated here. All studies involve the calculation of a free energy profile as a function of a spatial or a collective solvent coordinate. 

Like all chemical equilibria, this equilibrium is dynamic and we should think of protons as ceaselessly exchanging between HCN and H20 molecules, with a constant but low concentration of CN and H30+ ions. The proton transfer reaction of a strong acid, such as HCl, in water is also dynamic, but the equilibrium lies so strongly in favor of products that we represent it just by its forward reaction with a single arrow. 

Using either of the above approaches we have measured the thermal rate constants for some 40 hydrogen atom and proton transfer reactions. The results are tabulated in Table II where the thermal rate constants are compared with the rate constants obtained at 10.5 volt cm.-1 (3.7 e.v. exit energy) either by the usual method of pressure variation or for concurrent reactions by the ratio-plot technique outlined in previous publications (14, 17, 36). The ion source temperature during these measurements was about 310°K. Table II also includes the thermal rate constants measured by others (12, 13, 33, 39) using similar pulsing techniques. 

The occurrence of proton transfer reactions between Z)3+ ions and CHa, C2H, and NDZ, between methanium ions and NH, C2HG, CzD , and partially deuterated methanes, and between ammonium ions and ND has been demonstrated in irradiated mixtures of D2 and various reactants near 1 atm. pressure. The methanium ion-methane sequence proceeds without thermal activation between —78° and 25°C. The rate constants for the methanium ion-methane and ammonium ion-ammonia proton transfer reactions are 3.3 X 10 11 cc./molecule-sec. and 1.8 X 70 10 cc./molecule-sec., respectively, assuming equal neutralization rate constants for methanium and ammonium ions (7.6 X 10 4 cc./molecule-sec.). The methanium ion-methane and ammonium ion-ammonia sequences exhibit chain character. Ethanium ions do not undergo proton transfer with ethane. Propanium ions appear to dissociate even at total pressures near 1 atm. 

Such is not the case, and furthermore, the presence of NHS does not alter product ratios in favor of the more highly deuterated species as it does in the methane systems. The additional observation that C2D6 is untouched in TD/D2 C2H6/C2D6 mixtures (Table III, System III) makes the evidence against ethanium ion-ethane proton transfer conclusive. 

As long as the buffer solution contains acetic acid as a major species, a small amount of hydroxide ion added to the solution will be neutralized completely. Figure 18-1 shows two hydroxide ions added to a portion of a buffer solution. When a hydroxide ion collides with a molecule of weak acid, proton transfer forms a water molecule and the conjugate base of the weak acid. As long as there are more weak acid molecules in the solution than the number of added hydroxide ions, the proton transfer reaction goes virtually to completion. Weak acid molecules change into conjugate base anions as they mop up added hydroxide. 

In reaction 35, activation energy has to be provided to the precursor ion by collisions or other means and charge reduction will occur when the activation energy is lower than that for the desolvation reaction. In reaction 36, the solvation of the ion by B, i.e. reaction a, provides the activation energy and proton transfer and charge reduction will occur if the activation energy for reaction b is less than that for the reverse of reaction a. 

The reactions of the vinylcarbenes 7 and 15 with methanol clearly involve delocalized intermediates. However, the product distributions deviate from those of free (solvated) allyl cations. Competition of the various reaction paths outlined in Scheme 5 could be invoked to explain the results. On the other hand, the effect of charge delocalization in allylic systems may be partially offset by ion pairing. Proton transfer from alcohols to carbenes will give rise to carbocation-alkoxide ion pairs that is, the counterion will be closer to the carbene-derived carbon than to any other site. Unless the paired ions are rapidly separated by solvent molecules, collapse of the ion pair will mimic a concerted O-H insertion reaction. 

Ions and protons are much heavier than electrons. While electrons can easily tunnel through layers of solution 5 to 10 A thick, protons can tunnel only over short distances, up to about 0.5 A, and ions do not tunnel at all at room temperature. The transfer of an ion from the solution to a metal surface can be viewed as the breaking up of the solvation cage and subsequent deposition, the reverse process as the jumping of an ion from the surface into a preformed favorable solvent configuration (see Fig. 9.1). 

As shown by DFTB and CPMD simulations, the principal features of the transport mechanism are rotational diffusion of the protonic defect and proton transfer toward a neighboring oxide ion. That is, only the proton shows long-range diffusion, whereas the oxygens reside in their crystallographic positions. Both experiments " " and quantum-MD simulations, have revealed that rotational diffu-... 

In the third transition state (TS3), the neutral catalyst is recovered by transferring the proton back from the catalyst to the substrate. In other words, the (former) azlactone ether oxygen atom deprotonates the tertiary ammonium ion. For proton transfer, again an LBHB is formed (N-0 distance 2.479 A, <(0,H,N)=166.2°). In the product complex, the catayst is neutral and the A-acylamino acid ester is bound in its iminol form to the catalyst (Product(iininol)). Finally, an additional 66.6 kJ moF are gained by the subsequent iminol-amide tautomerization (Product(ainide)) (Fig. 1). 

Lehn and coworkers have profitably employed tartaric acid-containing crown ethers as enzyme models. The rate of proton transfer to an ammonium-substituted pyridinium substrate from a tetra-l,4-dihydropyridine-substituted crown ether was considerably enhanced compared to that for a simple 1,4-dihydropyridine. The reaction showed first order kinetic data and was inhibited by potassium ions. Intramolecular proton transfer from receptor to substrate was thus inferred via the hydrogen bonded receptor-substrate complex shown in Figure 16a (78CC143). 

FIGURE 19-9 IMADH ubiquinone oxidoreductase (Complex I). Complex I catalyzes the transfer of a hydride ion from NADH to FMN, from which two electrons pass through a series of Fe-S centers to the iron-sulfur protein N-2 in the matrix arm of the complex. Electron transfer from N-2 to ubiquinone on the membrane arm forms QH2, which diffuses into the lipid bilayer. This electron transfer also drives the expulsion from the matrix of four protons per pair of electrons. The detailed mechanism that couples electron and proton transfer in Complex I is not yet known, but probably involves a Q cycle similar to that in Complex III in which QH2 participates twice per electron pair (see Fig. 19-12). Proton flux produces an electrochemical potential across the inner mitochondrial membrane (N side negative, P side positive), which conserves some of the energy released by the electron-transfer reactions. This electrochemical potential drives ATP synthesis. 

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