Vibrational overtone spectroscopy of the 4νOH+νOH’combination level of HOOHviasequential local mode–local mode excitation

Kβ X-ray Emission Spectroscopy of Cu(I)-Lytic Polysaccharide Monooxygenase: Direct Observation of the Frontier Molecular Orbital for H2O2 Activation

Lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMOs) catalyze the degradation of recalcitrant carbohydrate polysaccharide substrates. These enzymes are characterized by a mononuclear Cu(I) active site with a three-coordinate T-shaped "His-brace" configuration including the N-terminal histidine and its amine group as ligands. This study explicitly investigates the electronic structure of the d10 Cu(I) active site in a LPMO using Kβ X-ray emission spectroscopy (XES). The lack of inversion symmetry in the His-brace site enables the 3d/p mixing required for intensity in the Kβ valence-to-core (VtC) XES spectrum of Cu(I)-LPMO. These Kβ XES data are correlated to density functional theory (DFT) calculations to define the bonding, and in particular, the frontier molecular orbital (FMO) of the Cu(I) site. These experimentally validated DFT calculations are used to evaluate the reaction coordinate for homolytic cleavage of the H2O2 O-O bond and understand the contribution of this FMO to the low barrier of this reaction and how the geometric and electronic structure of the Cu(I)-LPMO site is activated for rapid reactivity with H2O2.

Potential Nonstatistical Effects on the Unimolecular Decomposition of H2O2

An attempt is made to evaluate the nonstatistical effects in the thermal decomposition of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂). Previous experimental studies on this reaction reported an unusual pressure dependence of the rate constant indicating broader falloff behavior than expected from conventional theory. In this work, the possibility that the rate constant is affected by nonstatistical effects is investigated based on classical trajectory calculations on the global potential energy surfaces of H₂O₂ and H₂O₂ + Ar. The emphasis is on the intramolecular energy redistribution from the K-rotor, that is, the external rotor for rotation around the principal axis of least moment of inertia. The calculations for the H₂O₂ molecules excited above the dissociation threshold suggest that the energy redistribution from the torsion and K-rotor to vibrations can be competitive with dissociation. In particular, the slow redistribution of the energy associated with the K-rotor significantly affects the dissociation rate. The successive trajectory calculations for collisions of H₂O₂ with Ar show that the energy associated with the K-rotor can be collisionally transferred more efficiently than the vibrational energy. On the basis of these results and several assumptions, a simple model is proposed to account for the nonstatistical effects on the pressure-dependent thermal rate constants. The model predicts significant broadening of the falloff curve of the rate constants but still cannot fully explain the experimental data.

Solvent Cage Concept for the Homolytic Fragmentation of the Peroxynitrite-CO2 Adduct, ONOOCO2. Chem Res Toxicol 2022;35:1135-1145. [PMID: 35763359 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrestox.1c00355] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0]

The toxicity of peroxynitrite, ONOO^-, is directed by carbon dioxide via the formation of the corresponding adduct, ONOOCO₂^-. Entity ONOOCO₂^- is believed to be a highly unstable compound that primarily decomposes to nitrate and carbon dioxide, but it also undergoes fractional homolysis to generate carbonate radical anion, CO₃^•-, and nitrogen dioxide, NO₂^•, in a so-called solvent (radical) cage reaction. Recently, Koppenol et al. reviewed their proposal that ONOOCO₂^- is a relatively long-lived intermediate, arguing that "the solvent cage as proposed is physically not realistic". To further address whether ONOOCO₂^- could be a long-lived species, bond dissociation enthalpies (BDE) were calculated by the composite reference method (SMD)W1BD. Anion ONOOCO₂^- can exist in two conformers, s-cis-gauche and s-trans-gauche with predicted gas-phase O-O BDEs of about 10.8 and 9.5 kcal mol^-1, respectively. Therefore, both conformers should have very short lifetimes. The (SMD)W1BD method was also used to evaluate the thermodynamic parameters of interest, revealing that the homolytic decomposition of ONOOCO₂^- is the most reasonable pathway. Moreover, previously reported experimental chemically induced dynamic nuclear polarization data also support the intermediacy of the radical cage and the formation of products CO₂ and NO₃^- at a total yield of about 70%. Because the solvent radical cage concept for the decay of ONOO^- in the presence of CO₂ is supported by a variety of spectrometric methods as well as by quantum chemical calculations at high levels of theory, it provides strong evidence against the "out-of-cage" construct. For clarification of the nature of the transient UV/vis absorption(s) between 600 and 700 nm, as observed by Koppenol et al., several experimental approaches are suggested.

Photooxidation of water with heptazine-based molecular photocatalysts: Insights from spectroscopy and computational chemistry

We present a conspectus of recent joint spectroscopic and computational studies that provided novel insight into the photochemistry of hydrogen-bonded complexes of the heptazine (Hz) chromophore with hydroxylic substrate molecules (water and phenol). It was found that a functionalized derivative of Hz, tri-anisole-heptazine (TAHz), can photooxidize water and phenol in a homogeneous photochemical reaction. This allows the exploration of the basic mechanisms of the proton-coupled electron-transfer (PCET) process involved in the water photooxidation reaction in well-defined complexes of chemically tunable molecular chromophores with chemically tunable substrate molecules. The unique properties of the excited electronic states of the Hz molecule and derivatives thereof are highlighted. The potential energy landscape relevant for the PCET reaction has been characterized by judicious computational studies. These data provided the basis for the demonstration of rational laser control of PCET reactions in TAHz-phenol complexes by pump-push-probe spectroscopy, which sheds light on the branching mechanisms occurring by the interaction of nonreactive locally excited states of the chromophore with reactive intermolecular charge-transfer states. Extrapolating from these results, we propose a general scenario that unravels the complex photoinduced water-splitting reaction into simple sequential light-driven one-electron redox reactions followed by simple dark radical-radical recombination reactions.

Mechanistic Investigation into Olefin Epoxidation with H2O2 Catalyzed by Aqua-Coordinated Sandwich-Type Polyoxometalates: Role of the Noble Metal and Active Oxygen Position

Aqua-coordinated sandwich-type polyoxometalates (POMs), {[WZnTM2(H2O)2](ZnW9O34)2} n- (TM=RhIII, PdII, and PtII), catalyze olefin epoxidation with hydrogen peroxide and have been well established, and they present an advance toward the utilization of olefins. To elucidate the epoxidation mechanism, we systematically performed density functional calculations. The reaction proceeds through a two-step mechanism: activation of H2O2 and oxygen transfer. The aqua-coordinated complexes show two distinct H2O2 activation pathways: "two-step" and "concerted". The concerted processes are more facile and proceed with similar and rate-determining energy barriers at the Rh-, Pd-, and Pt-containing transition states, which agrees well with the experimental results. Next, the resulting TM-OH-(μ-OOH) intermediate transfers an O atom to olefin to form an epoxide. The higher reactivity of the Rh-containing POM is attributed to more interactions between the Rh and hydroperoxo unit. We also calculated all active oxygen positions to locate the most favorable pathway. The higher reactivity of the two-metal-bonded oxygen position is predominantly ascribed to its lower stereoscopic hindrance. Furthermore, the presence of one and two explicit water solvent molecules significantly reduces the energy barriers, making these sandwich POMs very efficient for the olefin epoxidation with H2O2.

Thermochemical Properties and Bond Dissociation Energies for Fluorinated Methanol, CH3-xFxOH, and Fluorinated Methyl Hydroperoxides, CH3-xFxOOH: Group Additivity

Oxygenated fluorocarbons are routinely found in sampling of environmental soils and waters as a result of the widespread use of fluoro and chlorofluoro carbons as heat transfer fluids, inert materials, polymers, fire retardants and solvents; the influence of these chemicals on the environment is a growing concern. The thermochemical properties of these species are needed for understanding their stability and reactions in the environment and in thermal process. Structures and thermochemical properties on the mono- to trifluoromethanol, CH3-xFxOH, and fluoromethyl hydroperoxide, CH3-xFxOOH (1 ≤ x ≤ 3), are determined by CBS-QB3, CBS-APNO, and G4 calculations. Entropy, S°298, and heat capacities, Cp(T)'s (300 ≤ T/K ≤ 1500) from vibration, translation, and external rotation contributions are calculated on the basis of the vibration frequencies and structures obtained from the B3LYP/6-31+G(d,p) density functional method. Potential barriers for the internal rotations are also calculated from this method and used to calculate hindered rotor contributions to S°298 and Cp(T)'s using direct integration over energy levels of the internal rotational potentials. Standard enthalpies of formation, ΔfH°298 (units in kcal mol(-1)) are CH2FOOH (-83.7), CHF2OOH (-138.1), CF3OOH (-193.6), CH2FOO(•) (-44.9), CHF2OO(•) (-99.6), CF3OO(•) (-153.8), CH2FOH (-101.9), CHF2OH (-161.6), CF3OH (-218.1), CH2FO(•) (-49.1), CHF2O(•) (-97.8), CF3O(•) (-150.5), CH2F(•) (-7.6), CHF2(•) (-58.8), and CF3(•) (-112.6). Bond dissociation energies for the R-OOH, RO-OH, ROO-H, R-OO(•), RO-O(•), R-OH, RO-H, R-O(•), and R-H bonds are determined and compared with methyl hydroperoxide to observe the trends from added fluoro substitutions. Enthalpy of formation for the fluoro-hydrocarbon oxygen groups C/F/H2/O, C/F2/H/O, C/F3/O, are derived from the above fluorinated methanol and fluorinated hydroperoxide species for use in Benson's Group Additivity. It was determined that fluorinated peroxides require interaction terms O/CH2F/O, O/CHF2/O, and O/CF3/O, as opposed to the common (O/C/O) group in hydrocarbons, resulting from interactions of the peroxide oxygen with the fluorines. Hydrogen bond dissociation increment (HBI) groups are also developed.

An Evaluation of Gas Phase Enthalpies of Formation for Hydrogen-Oxygen (HxOy) Species

We have compiled gas phase enthalpies of formation for nine hydrogen-oxygen species (HxOy) and selected recommended values for H, O, OH, H2O, HO2, H2O2, O3, HO3, and H2O3. The compilation consists of values derived from experimental measurements, quantum chemical calculations, and prior evaluations. This work updates the recommended values in the NIST-JANAF (1985) and Gurvich et al. (1989) thermochemical tables for seven species. For two species, HO3 and H2O3 (important in atmospheric chemistry) and not found in prior thermochemical evaluations, we also provide supplementary data consisting of molecular geometries, vibrational frequencies, and torsional potentials which can be used to compute thermochemical functions. For all species, we also provide supplementary data consisting of zero point energies, vibrational frequencies, and ion reaction energetics.

Simple soluble Bi(iii) salts as efficient catalysts for the oxidation of alkanes with H2O2

Simple soluble Bi(iii) salts exhibit pronounced catalytic activity in the oxidation of inert alkanes with H₂O₂via a radical mechanism with participation of the HO˙ radicals.

Accurate vibrational-rotational partition functions and standard-state free energy values for H2O2 from Monte Carlo path-integral calculations

Accurate quantum mechanical partition functions and absolute free energies of H(2)O(2) are determined using a realistic potential energy surface [J. Koput, S. Carter, and N. C. Handy, J. Phys. Chem. A 102, 6325 (1998)] for temperatures ranging from 300 to 2,400 K by using Monte Carlo path integral calculations with new, efficient polyatomic importance sampling methods. The path centroids are sampled in Jacobi coordinates via a set of independent ziggurat schemes. The calculations employed enhanced-same-path extrapolation of trapezoidal Trotter Fourier path integrals, and the paths were constructed using fast Fourier sine transforms. Importance sampling was also used in Fourier coefficient space, and adaptively optimized stratified sampling was used in configuration space. The free energy values obtained from the path-integral calculations are compared to separable-mode approximations, to the Pitzer-Gwinn approximation, and to values in thermodynamic tables. Our calculations support the recently proposed revisions to the JANAF tables.

Oxygen Binding, Activation, and Reduction to Water by Copper Proteins

Copper active sites play a major role in biological and abiological dioxygen activation. Oxygen intermediates have been studied in detail for the proteins and enzymes involved in reversible O(2) binding (hemocyanin), activation (tyrosinase), and four-electron reduction to water (multicopper oxidases). These oxygen intermediates exhibit unique spectroscopic features indicative of new geometric and electronic structures involved in oxygen activation. The spectroscopic and quantum-mechanical study of these intermediates has defined geometric- and electronic-structure/function correlations, and developed detailed reaction coordinates for the reversible binding of O(2), hydroxylation, and H-atom abstraction from different substrates, and the reductive cleavage of the O-O bond in the formation water.

Decoding the dynamical information embedded in highly mixed quantum states

The standard description of the vibrational and rotational motion of polyatomic molecules, as expressed by the distortable rotor/harmonic oscillator approximation, provides an adequate description of the molecular quantum states only in regions of low total state density. When the total state density is large, exceeding 100 states/cm(-1), the vibrational dynamics are "dissipative" and the fundamental process of intramolecular vibrational energy redistribution is operative. The presence of intramolecular vibrational energy redistribution leads to molecular quantum states of a qualitatively different nature. With respect to a normal-mode vibrational basis, these quantum states are "highly mixed" in their vibrational character and represent nuclear motion that is a combination of all the normal-mode motions. This review describes frequency domain spectroscopy techniques designed to probe the vibrational, rotational, and structural composition of these eigenstates. Recent work that investigates spectroscopy between highly mixed states is also reviewed.