Molybdenum oxidation, electron spin

M(VI) and M(IV) oxidation states. The M(V) state is generated by a one-electron reduction of the M(VI) state, or the one-electron oxidation of the M(IV) state, and occurs during the catalytic cycle—en route to the regeneration of the catalytically active state. Spectroscopic studies of the Mo—MPT enzymes, notably electron spin resonance (EPR) investigations of the Mo(V) state, have clearly demonstrated that the substrate interacts directly with the metal center (37). The first structural characterization of a substrate-bound complex was achieved for the DMSOR from Rhodobacter capsulatus DMS was added to the as-isolated enzyme to generate a complex with DMSO that was O-bound to the molybdenum (43). 

Perhaps the most important area of biochemistry in which ESR is used is the study of metalloproteins. Transition metals in certain oxidation and spin states have unpaired electrons, are paramagnetic, and in many cases are amenable to ESR spectroscopy. The most commonly found transition metals in biological systems are iron, copper, molybdenum, cobalt, and manganese. The remainder, including metals such as vanadium and... 

Tables 1 and 2 gives the numerical data for a series of vanadium (II), chromium (III), manganese (IV), molybdenum (III), rhenium (IV), iridium (VI), cobalt (II), and nickel (II) complexes. The first spin-allowed absorption band, caused by an internal transition in the partly filled shell, has the wavenumber equal to A. If spin-forbidden transitions are superposed on this band, a certain distortion from the usual shape of Gaussian error curve can be observed, and one takes the centre of gravity of intensity as the corrected wavenumber ai. One has to be careful not to confuse electron transfer or other strong bands with the internal transitions discussed here. Obviously, one has also to watch for absorption due to other coloured species, produced e. g. by oxidation or hydrolysis of the solutions. In the case of certain octahedral nickel (II), and nearly all tetrahedral cobalt (II) complexes, the first band has not actually been...

Molybdenum is expected to have oxidation states between 3 and 6 in aqueous solution (3-0 d electrons) and the ESR-active species in these enzymes is believed to be Mo (d )- Molybdenum is a mixture of seven isotopes of which Mo and Mo (combined abundance 25%) both have nuclear spin of 5/2 and give rise to a six line hyperfine spectrum. This interaction is a source of useful information so it is desirable to study isotopically enriched enzymes. ESR measurements can be made at room temperature, frozen solutions generally show axial or lower symmetry, and the principal g-values are close to, or less than, 2.0. 

Monomeric species M OR-tert)x have been characterized for titanium, vanadium, chromium, zirconium, and hafnium (x = 4) and for niobium and tantalum (x == 5). With chromium it was found that limiting Cr(III) to coordination number 4 in the dimeric Cr2(OBu )e caused instability and a remarkable facility toward valency disproportionation or oxidation to the stable quadricovalent Cr(OBu )4 (8, 9). In contrast, molybdenum formed a stable dimeric tri-tert-butoxide (Bu O)3Mo=Mo-(OBu )3 which is diamagnetic and presumably bound by a metal-metal triple bond (10, II). Yet another interesting feature of chromium is the synthesis of a stable diamagnetic nitrosyl Cr(NO) (OBu )3 in which the nitric oxide is believed to act as a three-electron donor with formation of a four-coordinated low spin chromium (II) compound (12). The insta-bihty of Cr2(OBu )e and the stability of both Cr(NO) (OBu )3 and Cr(OBu )4 must result from the steric effects of the tertiary butoxo groups since the less bulky normal alkoxo groups form very stable polymeric [Cr(OR)3]a. compounds in which the Cr(III) has its usual coordination number of 6 (octahedral). 

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