Pterin-molybdenum redox chemistry

Pterin-Molybdenum Redox Chemistry. The early studies focused on Mo(vi) and tetrahydropterin reagents to closely mimic the Mo and pterin portions of Moco. These studies showed that a variety of dioxo-Mo(vi) complexes reacted with tetrahydropterins to produce intensely colored mono-0x0 Mo complexes, but the reports offered different interpretations of what reaction had occurred and what resulting oxidation states of molybdenum and pterin had been produced, even when X-ray structures of the product Mo-pterin complexes were available. A clear picture of the electronic structure was eventually developed from redox titrations, reactivity studies, theoretical calculations and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) studies. 

The above examples underline that the dithiolene unit can also be an important redox component of the molybdenum cofactor. Much of the discussion in this chapter has focused on the redox chemistry of pterin and its... 

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