The Dynamics of Proton Transfers

Now that we have examined various forms of acid-base catalysis, and we have looked at how the thermodynamics of proton transfer are related to the kinetics via the Bronsted catalysis law, let s examine the mechanisms and rates of proton transfer in more detail. The transfer of a proton from an acid to a base is one of the simplest of all chemical reactions, and yet, even this reaction has been found to have several subtle mechanistic twists. The rate of the reaction generally depends upon the driving force (the thermodynamics) of the reaction, but there are cases where intrinsic barriers exist, making even very exothermic reactions slower than one might expect. 

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Seminal studies on the dynamics of proton transfer in the triplet manifold have been performed on HBO [109]. It was found that in the triplet states of HBO, the proton transfer between the enol and keto tautomers is reversible because the two (enol and keto) triplet states are accidentally isoenergetic. In addition, the rate constant is as slow as milliseconds at 100 K. The results of much slower proton transfer dynamics in the triplet manifold are consistent with the earlier summarization of ESIPT molecules. Based on the steady-state absorption and emission spectroscopy, the changes of pKa between the ground and excited states, and hence the thermodynamics of ESIPT, can be deduced by a Forster cycle [65]. Accordingly, compared to the pKa in the ground state, the decrease of pKa in the... 

The following discussion begins by presenting an in-depth view of the mechanism for the photochemical reduction of benzophenone by N, iV-dimethyl-aniline. This discussion is followed by a presentation of the theoretical models describing the parameters controlling the dynamics of proton-transfer processes. A survey of our experimental studies is then presented, followed by a discussion of these results within the context of other proton-transfer studies. 

At present, there are two contrasting theories serving to describe the dynamics of proton transfer when an electronic barrier exists in the transfer coordinate. The... 

In recent years, there have been numerous studies examining the dynamics of proton transfer within the context of recently developed theoretical models. Reactions in the gas phase, in the solution phase, and in matrices have been examined [59-72]. Few of these studies, however, have addressed the issue of how the rate of proton transfer correlates with the thermodynamic driving force, which is an important correlation for discerning the validity of the various theoretical models. However, there have been two series of investigations by Kelley and co-workers [70, 71], and by Pines et al. [65, 66] that have sought to elucidate the role of solvent dynamics on the rate of proton transfer. 

An interesting question then arises as to why the dynamics of proton transfer for the benzophenone-i V, /V-dimethylaniline contact radical IP falls within the nonadiabatic regime while that for the napthol photoacids-carboxylic base pairs in water falls in the adiabatic regime given that both systems are intermolecular. For the benzophenone-A, A-dimethylaniline contact radical IP, the presumed structure of the complex is that of a 7t-stacked system that constrains the distance between the two heavy atoms involved in the proton transfer, C and O, to a distance of 3.3A (Scheme 2.10) [20]. Conversely, for the napthol photoacids-carboxylic base pairs no such constraints are imposed so that there can be close approach of the two heavy atoms. The distance associated with the crossover between nonadiabatic and adiabatic proton transfer has yet to be clearly defined and will be system specific. However, from model calculations, distances in excess of 2.5 A appear to lead to the realm of nonadiabatic proton transfer. Thus, a factor determining whether a bimolecular proton-transfer process falls within the adiabatic or nonadiabatic regimes lies in the rate expression Eq. (6) where 4>(R), the distribution function for molecular species with distance, and k(R), the rate constant as a function of distance, determine the mode of transfer. 

The dynamics of proton binding to the extra cellular and the cytoplasmic surfaces of the purple membranes were measured by the pH jump methods [125], The purple membranes selectively labeled by fluorescein Lys-129 of bacteri-orhodopsin were pulsed by protons released in the aqueous bulk from excited pyranine and the reaction of the protons with the indicators was measured. Kinetic analysis of the data implied that the two faces of the membrane differ in then-buffer capacities and in their rates of interaction with bulk protons. The extracellular surfaces of the purple membrane contains one anionic proton binding site per protein molecule with pA" 5.1. This site is within a Coulomb cage radius from Lys-129. The cytoplasmic surface of the purple membrane bears four to five pro-tonable moieties that, due to close proximity, function as a common proton binding site. The reaction of the proton with this cluster is at a very fast rate (3 X 1010 M-1 sec ). The proximity between the elements is sufficiently high that even in 100 mM NaCl, they still function as a cluster. Extraction of the chromophore retinal from the protein has a marked effect on the carboxylates of the cytoplasmic surface, and two to three of them assume positions that almost bar their reaction with bulk protons. Quantitative evaluation of the dynamics of proton transfer from photoactivated bacteriorhodopsin to the bulk has been done by using numerical... 

The dynamics of proton transfer within a variety of substituted benzophenone-iV-methylacridan contact radical ion pairs [e.g. (53)] in benzene have been examined.156 Correlation of the rate constants for proton transfer with the thermodynamic driving force has revealed both normal and inverted regions for proton transfer in benzene. 

If the homolytic bond-dissociation energy (BDE) is the main factor governing the dynamics of proton transfer, the transition state is better represented by structures I and II. In an alkylaromatic radical cation the build-up of positive charge at the a-carbon requires extensive charge delocalization from the aromatic ring and this is likely to occur with greater efficiency in 4-Me rather than 4-MeO substituted radical... 

Proton transfer processes are specially important excited state properties, and several detailed time resolved studies have been reported. Time resolved fluorescence studies of excited l-naphthol-3,6-disulphonate shows there is geminate recombination by proton transfer. Another detailed study is the examination of proton transfer and solvent polarization dynamics in 3-hydroxyflavone . The dynamics of proton transfer using a geminate dissociation and recombination model has also been investigated with 8-hydroxypyrene-l,3,6-trisulphonate 5 and also with... 

Kotlyar, A.B., et ah. The dynamics of proton transfer at the C side of the mitochondrial membrane picosecond and microsecond measurements. Biochemistry, 1994, 33, 873—879. 

Friedman, R., The dynamics of proton transfer between adjacent sites. Photochem. Photobiol. Sci., 2006a, 5(6), 531-537. 

The manner in which protons diffuse is a reflection of the physical properties of the environment, the geometry of the diffusion space, and the chemical composition of the surface that defines the reaction space. The biomembrane, with heterogeneous surface composition and dielectric discontinuity normal to the surface, markedly alters the dynamics of proton transfer reactions that proceed close to its surface. Time-resolved measurements of fast, diffusion-controlled reactions of protons with chromophores and fluorophores allow us to gauge the physical, chemical, and geometric characteristics of thin water layers enclosed between phospholipid membranes. Combination of the experimental methodology and the mathematical formalism for analysis renders this procedure an accurate tool for evaluating the properties of the special environment of the water-membrane interface, where the proton-coupled energy transformation takes place. 

Diffusion controlled rates are expected for most proton transfers between certain acids and bases in water. As long as the pfC of the conjugate acid of the proton acceptor B" is greater than that of the donor HA by two or more units, the reaction is normally found to be diffusion controlled, and the rate becomes independent of the donor strength. When the pKa of the conjugate acid of the acceptor drops below that of the donor, the forward reaction is endothermic, and hence the reverse reaction becomes diffusion controlled (proton transfer from BH to A ). We examine further the dynamics of proton transfers below. 

Recalling the discussion of the dynamics of proton transfer in Section 9.3.7, protonation and deprotonation of heteroatoms is faster than with carbon. Therefore, the mechanism given in Scheme 10.9 is, as with many classic electron-pushing schemes, a simplification. Protonation actually occurs first on the oxygen to make the enol form (Ecp 10.35), but the higher thermodynamic stability of the keto form relative to the enol form ultimately leads to the carbonyl product (see Section 11.1). 

The study of prototropic tautomerization is intimately related to the study of proton transfer reactions. The study of the dynamics of proton transfer is as old as the study of reaction kinetics itself Indeed, the first reactions studied, that is, the inversion of sugar by Wilhehny in 1850 [65], involves a proton transfer as the elementary step in the reaction. In the first studies on the dynamics of tautomerization, primarily keto-enol tautomerization in acetone-like compounds were studied, which is a slow process involving a number of reaction steps of which the acid catalyzed keto-enol conversion was taken as the rate determining one [66]. In the past century, since 1910, nearly 2000 papers have been published on the kinetics of tautomerization, and in the first 60 years most of those were devoted to the ground-state reactions of the keto-enol type involving a C atom. Until the mid-1950s, only a handful of papers can be found this was obviously due to experimental hmitations. Two things are needed a method to start the reaction, and a method to follow it. In Dawson s experiments [66], the rate could be influenced by the amount of acid present, and the reaction could be followed because the enol produced... 

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