A Two-State Reactivity Rationale for Counterintuitive Axial Ligand Effects on the CH Activation Reactivity of Nonheme FeIVO Oxidants

The fundamental role of exchange-enhanced reactivity in C-H activation by S=2 oxo iron(IV) complexes

It is shown that H-abstraction reactivity by oxoiron(IV) complexes with a quintet ground state is highly enhanced due to exchange-stabilization endowed by the increased number of the exchange d-d interactions near the transition state . It is postulated that nonheme enzymes evolved to make use of this fundamental mechanism in activation of strong C-H bonds.

Density functional theory for transition metals and transition metal chemistry

We introduce density functional theory and review recent progress in its application to transition metal chemistry. Topics covered include local, meta, hybrid, hybrid meta, and range-separated functionals, band theory, software, validation tests, and applications to spin states, magnetic exchange coupling, spectra, structure, reactivity, and catalysis, including molecules, clusters, nanoparticles, surfaces, and solids.

The effect and influence of cis-ligands on the electronic and oxidizing properties of nonheme oxoiron biomimetics. A density functional study

Density functional theory studies on the nature of the cis effect and cis influence of ligands on oxoiron nonheme complexes have been performed. A detailed analysis of the electronic and oxidizing properties of [Fe(IV)O(TPA)L](+) with L = F(-), Cl(-), and Br(-) and TPA = tris-(2-pyridylmethyl)amine are presented and compared with [Fe(IV)O(TPA)NCCH(3)](2+). The calculations show that the electronic cis effect is determined by favorable orbital overlap between first-row elements with the metal, which are missing between the metal and second- and third-row elements. As a consequence, the metal 3d block is split into a one-below-two set of orbitals with L = Cl(-) and Br(-), and the HOMO/LUMO energy gap is widened with respect to the system with L = F(-). However, this larger HOMO/LUMO gap does not lead to large differences in electron affinities of the complexes. Moreover, a quantum mechanical analysis of the binding of the ligand shows that it is built up from a large electric field effect of the ligand on the oxoiron species and a much smaller quantum mechanical effect due to orbital overlap. These contributions are of similar strength for the three tested halogen cis ligands and result in similar reactivity patterns with substrates. The calculations show that [Fe(IV)O(TPA)L](+) with L = F(-), Cl(-), and Br(-) have closely lying triplet and quintet spin states, but only the quintet spin state is reactive with substrates. Therefore, the efficiency of the oxidant will be determined by the triplet-quintet spin state crossing of the reaction. The reaction of styrene with a doubly charged reactant, that is, [Fe(V)O(TPA)L](2+) with L = F(-), Cl(-), and Br(-) or [Fe(V)O(TPA)NCCH(3)](3+), leads to an initial electron transfer from the substrate to the metal followed by a highly exothermic epoxidation mechanism. These reactivity differences are mainly determined by the overall charge of the system rather than the nature of the cis ligand.

Origin of the correlation of the rate constant of substrate hydroxylation by nonheme iron(IV)-oxo complexes with the bond-dissociation energy of the C-H bond of the substrate

Mononuclear nonheme iron containing systems are versatile and vital oxidants of substrate hydroxylation reactions in many biosystems, whereby the rate constant of hydroxylation correlates with the strength of the C-H bond that is broken in the process. The thermodynamic reason behind these correlations, however, has never been established. In this work results of a series of density functional theory calculations of substrate hydroxylation by a mononuclear nonheme iron(IV)-oxo oxidant with a 2 His/1 Asp structural motif analogous to alpha-ketoglutarate dependent dioxygenases are presented. The calculations show that these oxidants are very efficient and able to hydroxylate strong C-H bonds, whereby the hydrogen abstraction barriers correlate linearly with the strength of the C-H bond of the substrate that is broken. These trends have been rationalized using a valence bond (VB) curve-crossing diagram, which explains the correlation using electron transfer mechanisms in the hydrogen abstraction processes. We also rationalized the subsequent reaction step for radical rebound and show that the barrier is proportional to the electron affinity of the iron(III)-hydroxo intermediate complex. It is shown that nonheme iron(IV)-hydroxo complexes have a larger electron affinity than heme iron(IV)-hydroxo complexes and therefore also experience larger radical rebound barriers, which may have implications for product distributions and rearrangement reactions. Thus, detailed comparisons between heme and nonheme iron(IV)-oxo oxidants reveal the fundamental differences in monoxygenation capabilities of these important classes of oxidants in biosystems and synthetic analogues for the first time and enable us to make predictions of experimental processes.

A two-state reactivity model explains unusual kinetic isotope effect patterns in C-H bond cleavage by nonheme oxoiron(IV) complexes

It's in the bond: The cleavage of C-H bonds by two related oxoiron(IV) complexes shows a range of kinetic isotope effect (KIE) values that exhibit an unusual dependence on the C-H bond strength. Large nonclassical KIEs are observed for bond strengths below 93 kcal mol(-1), while semiclassical values are found above this value (see graph, DHA = 9,10-dihydroanthracene). This nonintuitive behavior can be rationalized by invoking a two-state reactivity model.

Peroxo and oxo intermediates in mononuclear nonheme iron enzymes and related active sites

Fe(III)OOH and Fe(IV)O intermediates have now been documented in a number of nonheme iron active sites. In this Current Opinion we use spectroscopy combined with electronic structure calculations to define the frontier molecular orbitals (FMOs) of these species and their contributions to reactivity. For the low-spin Fe(III)OOH species in activated bleomycin we show that the reactivity of this nonheme iron intermediate is very different from that of the analogous Compound 0 of cytochrome P450. For Fe(IV)O S=1 model species we experimentally define the electronic structure and its contribution to reactivity, and computationally evaluate how this would change for the Fe(IV)O S=2 intermediates found in nonheme iron enzymes.

Theoretical study of cyclohexane hydroxylation by three possible isomers of [FeIV(O)(R-TPEN)] 2+: does the pentadentate ligand wrapping around the metal center differently lead to the different stability and reactivity?

Density functional theory calculations have been carried out to elucidate the mechanism of cyclohexane hydroxylation by three possible isomers of [Fe(IV)(O)(N-R-N,N',N'-tris(2-pyridylmethyl)ethane-1,2-diamine)](2+) (R is methyl or benzyl) (Klinker et al. in Angew Chem Int Ed 44:3690-3694, 2005). The calculations offer a mechanistic view and reveal the following features: (a) all the three isomers possess triplet ground states and low-lying quintet excited states, (b) the relative stability follows the order isomer A > isomer B > isomer C, in agreement with the conclusions of Klinker et al., (c) the theoretical investigations provide a rationale to explain the interconversion of the three isomers, (d) the reaction pathways of the C-H hydroxylation are initiated by a hydrogen-abstraction step, and (e) the three isomers react with cyclohexane via two-state-reactivity patterns on competing triplet and quintet spin-state surfaces. As such, in the gas phase, the relative reactivity exhibits the trend isomer B > isomer A, while at the highest level, B2//B1 with zero point energy and solvation corrections, the relative reactivity follows the order isomer B > isomer A > isomer C. Thus, the calculated reaction pathway shows that pyridine rings perpendicular to the Fe-O axis result in more reactive species, and a pyridine ring coordinated trans to the oxygen atom leads to the least reactive isomer.

A rational basis for the axial ligand effect in C-H oxidation by [MnO(porphyrin)(X)]+ (X = H2O, OH-, O2-) from a DFT study

Oxyl radical character in the MnO group of the title system is shown from a density functional theory study to be essential for efficient C-H cleavage, which is a key step in C-H oxidation. Since oxyl species have elongated Mn-O bonds relative to the more usual oxo species of type MnO, the normal expectation would be that high trans-influence ligands X should facilitate oxyl character by elongating the Mn-O bond and thus enhance both oxyl character and reactivity. Contrary to this expectation, but in line with the experimental data (Jin, N.; Ibrahim, M.; Spiro, T. G.; Groves, J. T. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2007, 129, 12416), we find that reactivity increases along the series X = O(2-) < OH(-) < H2O for the following reasons. The ground-state singlet (S) is unreactive for all X, and only the higher-energy triplet (T) and quintet (Q) states have the oxyl character needed for reactivity, but the higher trans-influence X ligands are also shown to increase the S/T and S/Q gaps, thus making attainment of the needed T and Q states harder. The latter effect is dominant, and high trans-influence X ligands thus disfavor reaction. The higher reactivity in the presence of acid noted by Groves and co-workers is thus rationalized by the preference for having X = H2O over OH(-) or O(2-).

Axial ligand effects on the geometric and electronic structures of nonheme oxoiron(IV) complexes

A series of complexes [Fe(IV)(O)(TMC)(X)](+) (where X = OH(-), CF3CO2(-), N3(-), NCS(-), NCO(-), and CN(-)) were obtained by treatment of the well-characterized nonheme oxoiron(IV) complex [Fe(IV)(O)(TMC)(NCMe)](2+) (TMC = tetramethylcyclam) with the appropriate NR4X salts. Because of the topology of the TMC macrocycle, the [Fe(IV)(O)(TMC)(X)](+) series represents an extensive collection of S = 1 oxoiron(IV) complexes that only differ with respect to the ligand trans to the oxo unit. Electronic absorption, Fe K-edge X-ray absorption, resonance Raman, and Mossbauer data collected for these complexes conclusively demonstrate that the characteristic spectroscopic features of the S = 1 Fe(IV)=O unit, namely, (i) the near-IR absorption properties, (ii) X-ray absorption pre-edge intensities, and (iii) quadrupole splitting parameters, are strongly dependent on the identity of the trans ligand. However, on the basis of extended X-ray absorption fine structure data, most [Fe(IV)(O)(TMC)(X)](+) species have Fe=O bond lengths similar to that of [Fe(IV)(O)(TMC)(NCMe)](2+) (1.66 +/- 0.02 A). The mechanisms by which the trans ligands perturb the Fe(IV)=O unit were probed using density functional theory (DFT) computations, yielding geometric and electronic structures in good agreement with our experimental data. These calculations revealed that the trans ligands modulate the energies of the Fe=O sigma- and pi-antibonding molecular orbitals, causing the observed spectroscopic changes. Time-dependent DFT methods were used to aid in the assignment of the intense near-UV absorption bands found for the oxoiron(IV) complexes with trans N3(-), NCS(-), and NCO(-) ligands as X(-)-to-Fe(IV)=O charge-transfer transitions, thereby rationalizing the resonance enhancement of the nu(Fe=O) mode upon excitation of these chromophores.