Synergistic Effect of FeII and MnII Ions in Cyano-Bridged Heterometallic Coordination Polymers on Catalytic Selectivity of Benzene Oxygenation to Phenol

A cyano-bridged heterometallic coordination polymer with partial deficiencies of CN^- ligands, [Mn^II(H₂O)_8/3]_3/2[Fe^II(CN)₅(NH₃)], forms open metal sites both on Mn^II and Fe^II ions by liberation of monodentate ligands such as NH₃ and H₂O. [Mn^II(H₂O)_8/3]_3/2[Fe^II(CN)₅(NH₃)] exhibits high catalytic activity and selectivity of benzene oxygenation to phenol in the presence of m-chloroperoxybenzoic acid as an oxidant. The postcatalytic spectroscopy of [Mn^II(H₂O)_8/3]_3/2[Fe^II(CN)₅(NH₃)] and catalysis comparison with a physical mixture of [Mn^II(H₂O)₃]₂[Fe^II(CN)₆] and [Fe(H₂O)_3/2]_4/3[Fe(CN)₆], which has open metal sites on both Mn^II and Fe ions separately, indicated that the high activity resulted from high oxidation ability and phenol adsorption ability of Fe^II and Mn^II ions, respectively.

Voltage-Gated Electrocatalysis of Efficient and Selective Methane Oxidation by Tricopper Clusters under Ambient Conditions

Selective methane oxidation is difficult chemistry. Here we describe a strategy for the electrocatalysis of selective methane oxidation by immobilizing tricopper catalysts on the cathodic surface. In the presence of dioxygen and methane, the activation of these catalysts above a threshold cathodic potential can initiate the dioxygen chemistry for O atom transfer to methane. The catalytic turnover is completed by facile electron injections into the tricopper catalysts from the electrode. This technology leads to dramatic enhancements in performance of the catalysts toward methane oxidation. Unprecedented turnover frequencies (>40 min^-1) and high product throughputs (turnover numbers >30 000 in 12 h) are achieved for this challenging chemical transformation in water under ambient conditions. The technology is green and suitable for on-site direct conversion of methane into methanol.

Valorization of Small Alkanes by Biocatalytic Oxyfunctionalization

The oxidation of alkanes into valuable chemical products is a vital reaction in organic synthesis. This reaction, however, is challenging, owing to the inertness of C-H bonds. Transition metal catalysts for C-H functionalization are frequently explored. Despite chemical alternatives, nature has also evolved powerful oxidative enzymes (e. g., methane monooxygenases, cytochrome P450 oxygenases, peroxygenases) that are capable of transforming C-H bonds under very mild conditions, with only the use of molecular oxygen or hydrogen peroxide as electron acceptors. Although progress in alkane oxidation has been reviewed extensively, little attention has been paid to small alkane oxidation. The latter holds great potential for the manufacture of chemicals. This Minireview provides a concise overview of the most relevant enzyme classes capable of small alkanes (C_<6 ) oxyfunctionalization, describes the essentials of the catalytic mechanisms, and critically outlines the current state-of-the-art in preparative applications.

Synthesis of a monocationic μ-nitrido-bridged iron porphycene dimer and its methane oxidation activity

Herein, we report the synthesis of a monocationic μ-nitrido-bridged iron porphycene dimer, a structural analogue of a monocationic μ-nitrido-bridged iron phthalocyanine dimer, which is known to be one of the most potent molecule-based catalysts for methane oxidation. ¹H-NMR and single-crystal X-ray structural analyses showed that the porphycene complex includes two Fe(IV) ions, and the structure around the Fe-NFe core is quite similar to that of the monocationic μ-nitrido-bridged iron phthalocyanine dimer. Although methane was oxidized into MeOH, HCHO, and HCOOH in the presence of a silica-supported catalyst of this monocationic μ-nitrido-bridged iron porphycene dimer in an acidic aqueous solution containing excess H₂O₂, its reactive intermediate was not a high-valence iron-oxo species, as in the case of a monocationic μ-nitrido-bridged iron phthalocyanine dimer, but ˙OH. It is suggested that the high-valent iron-oxo species of the μ-nitrido-bridged iron porphycene dimer was gradually decomposed under these reaction conditions, and the decomposed compound catalyzed a Fenton-type reaction. This result indicates that the stability of the oxo-species is indispensable for achieving high catalytic methane oxidation activity using a μ-nitrido-bridged iron porphyrinoid dimer with an Fe-NFe core as a catalyst.

Catalytic machinery of methane oxidation in particulate methane monooxygenase (pMMO)

In this focused review, we portray the recently reported 2.5 Å cyro-EM structure of the particulate methane monooxygenase (pMMO) from M. capsulatus (Bath). The structure of the functional holo-pMMO near atomic resolution has uncovered the sites of the copper cofactors including the location of the active site in the enzyme. The three coppers seen in the original X-ray crystal structures of the enzyme are now augmented by additional coppers in the transmembrane domain as well as in the water-exposed C-terminal subdomain of the PmoB subunit. The cryo-EM structure offers the first glimpse of the catalytic machinery capable of methane oxidation with high selectivity and efficiency. The findings are entirely consistent with the biochemical and biophysical findings previously reported in the literature, including the chemistry of hydrocarbon hydroxylation, regeneration of the catalyst for multiple turnovers, and the mechanism of aborting non-productive cycles to ensure kinetic competence.

Methane monooxygenases: central enzymes in methanotrophy with promising biotechnological applications

Worldwide, the use of methane is limited to generating power, electricity, heating, and for production of chemicals. We believe this valuable gas can be employed more widely. Here we review the possibility of using methane as a feedstock for biotechnological processes based on the application of synthetic methanotrophs. Methane monooxygenase (MMO) enables aerobic methanotrophs to utilize methane as a sole carbon and energy source, in contrast to industrial microorganisms that grow on carbon sources, such as sugar cane, which directly compete with the food market. However, naturally occurring methanotrophs have proven to be difficult to manipulate genetically and their current industrial use is limited to generating animal feed biomass. Shifting the focus from genetic engineering of methanotrophs, towards introducing metabolic pathways for methane utilization in familiar industrial microorganisms, may lead to construction of efficient and economically feasible microbial cell factories. The applications of a technology for MMO production are not limited to methane-based industrial synthesis of fuels and value-added products, but are also of interest in bioremediation where mitigating anthropogenic pollution is an increasingly relevant issue. Published research on successful functional expression of MMO does not exist, but several attempts provide promising future perspectives and a few recent patents indicate that there is an ongoing research in this field. Combining the knowledge on genetics and metabolism of methanotrophy with tools for functional heterologous expression of MMO-encoding genes in non-methanotrophic bacterial species, is a key step for construction of synthetic methanotrophs that holds a great biotechnological potential.

DFT Study on the Catalytic Activity of ALD-Grown Diiron Oxide Nanoclusters for Partial Oxidation of Methane to Methanol

Using density functional theory (DFT), we studied the catalytic activity of iron oxide nanoclusters that mimic the structure of the active site in the soluble form of methane monooxygenase (sMMO) for the partial oxidation of methane to methanol. Using N₂O as the oxidant, we consider a radical-rebound mechanism and a concerted mechanism for the oxidation of methane on either a bridging oxygen (O_b) or a terminal oxygen (O_t) active site. We find that the radical-rebound pathway is preferred over the concerted pathway by 40-50 kJ/mol, but the desorption of methanol and the regeneration of the oxygen site are found to be the highest barriers for the direct conversion of methane to methanol with these catalysts. As demonstrated by a population analysis, the O_x (x = b or t) site behaves as an oxygen radical during the H abstraction, and the [Fe⁺-O_x^-] site behaves as a Lewis acid-base pair during the concerted C-H cleavage. Molecular orbital decomposition analysis further demonstrates electron transfer during the oxidation and reduction steps of the reaction. High-level multireference calculations were also carried out to further assess the DFT results. Understanding how these systems behave during the proposed reaction pathways provides new insights into how they can be tuned for methane partial oxidation.

A merged copper(I/II) cluster isolated from Glaser coupling

Ubiquitous copper-oxygen species are pivotal in enabling multifarious oxidation reactions in biological and chemical transformations. We herein construct a macrocycle-protected mixed-valence cluster [(^tBuC≡CCu^I₃)-(μ₂-OH)-Cu^II] by merging a copper acetylide cluster with a copper-oxygen moiety formed in Glaser coupling. This merged Cu(I/II) cluster shows remarkably strong oxidation capacity, whose reduction potential is among the most positive for Cu(II) and even comparable with some Cu(III) species. Consequently, the cluster exhibits high hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) reactivity with inert hydrocarbons. In contrast, the degraded [Cu^II-(μ₂-OH)-Cu^II] embedded in a small macrocyclic homologue shows no HAT reactivity. Theoretical calculations indicate that the strong oxidation ability of Cu(II) in [(^tBuC≡CCu^I₃)-(μ₂-OH)-Cu^II] is mainly ascribed to the uneven charge distribution of Cu(I) ions in the ^tBuC≡CCu^I₃ unit because of significant [d_Cu(I) → π*_(C≡C)] back donation. The present study on in situ formed metal clusters opens a broad prospect for mechanistic studies of Cu-based catalytic reactions.

Copper-oxygen species in organometallic complexes and enzymes are involved in many oxidation reactions. Here, the authors synthesize a macrocycle-protected mixed valence Cu(I/II) cluster with an unusually strong oxidation capacity and apply it to hydrogen atom transfer reactions with inert hydrocarbons.

Combination of Chemo- and Biocatalysis: Conversion of Biomethane to Methanol and Formic Acid

In the present day, methanol is mainly produced from methane via reforming processes, but research focuses on alternative production routes. Herein, we present a chemo-/biocatalytic oxidation cascade as a novel process to currently available methods. Starting from synthetic biogas, in the first step methane was oxidized to formaldehyde over a mesoporous VOx/SBA-15 catalyst. In the second step, the produced formaldehyde was disproportionated enzymatically towards methanol and formic acid in equimolar ratio by formaldehyde dismutase (FDM) obtained from Pseudomonas putida. Two processing routes were demonstrated: (a) batch wise operation using free formaldehyde dismutase after accumulating formaldehyde from the first step and (b) continuous operation with immobilized enzymes. Remarkably, the chemo-/biocatalytic oxidation cascades generate methanol in much higher productivity compared to methane monooxygenase (MMO) which, however, directly converts methane. Moreover, production steps for the generation of formic acid were reduced from four to two stages.

Selective catalytic oxidation of benzene to phenol by a vanadium oxide nanorod (Vnr) catalyst in CH3CN using H2O2(aq) and pyrazine-2-carboxylic acid (PCA)

A vanadium oxide nanorod (V_nr) catalyst has been synthesized without using surfactants through crystallization, which is highly active for benzene to phenol oxidation.

Cu3-Cluster-Doped Monolayer Mo2CO2 (MXene) as an Electron Reservoir for Catalyzing a CO Oxidation Reaction

The catalytic oxidation of CO on Cu₃-cluster-decorated pristine and defective Mo₂CO₂ (MXene) monolayers (Cu₃/p-Mo₂CO₂ and Cu₃/d-Mo₂CO₂) was investigated by first-principles calculations. The stability of the designed catalysts was comprehensively demonstrated via analysis of the energies, geometry distortion, and molecular dynamics simulations at finite temperatures. The difference in the individual adsorption energies, as well as the oxidation and poisoning of Cu₃/p(d)-Mo₂CO₂ under CO and O₂ gas atmospheres, was tested to estimate the catalytic ability. We found that Cu₃/d-Mo₂CO₂ might be a superior catalyst with good stability and reactivity for CO oxidation. The active sites of the Cu₃ cluster acting as an electron reservoir governed its electron-donating and -accepting ability. Different adsorption configurations of O₂ on Cu₃/d-Mo₂CO₂ also gave rise to different reaction activities. The facile rate-limiting energy barrier was attributed to the charge buffer capacity of the Cu₃ cluster that mediates the reaction. Our results may provide clues to fabricate MXene-based materials by depositing small clusters on MXenes and exploring the advanced applications of these materials.

Metals and Methanotrophy

Aerobic methanotrophs have long been known to play a critical role in the global carbon cycle, being capable of converting methane to biomass and carbon dioxide. Interestingly, these microbes exhibit great sensitivity to copper and rare-earth elements, with the expression of key genes involved in the central pathway of methane oxidation controlled by the availability of these metals. That is, these microbes have a "copper switch" that controls the expression of alternative methane monooxygenases and a "rare-earth element switch" that controls the expression of alternative methanol dehydrogenases. Further, it has been recently shown that some methanotrophs can detoxify inorganic mercury and demethylate methylmercury; this finding is remarkable, as the canonical organomercurial lyase does not exist in these methanotrophs, indicating that a novel mechanism is involved in methylmercury demethylation. Here, we review recent findings on methanotrophic interactions with metals, with a particular focus on these metal switches and the mechanisms used by methanotrophs to bind and sequester metals.

Electronic Structure of the [Cu3(μ-O)3]2+ Cluster in Mordenite Zeolite and Its Effects on the Methane to Methanol Oxidation

Identifying Cu-exchanged zeolites able to activate C-H bonds and selectively convert methane to methanol is a challenge in the field of biomimetic heterogeneous catalysis. Recent experiments point to the importance of trinuclear [Cu₃(μ-O)₃]²⁺ complexes inside the micropores of mordenite (MOR) zeolite for selective oxo-functionalization of methane. The electronic structures of these species, namely, the oxidation state of Cu ions and the reactive character of the oxygen centers, are not yet fully understood. In this study, we performed a detailed analysis of the electronic structure of the [Cu₃(μ-O)₃]²⁺ site using multiconfigurational wave-function-based methods and density functional theory. The calculations reveal that all Cu sites in the cluster are predominantly present in the Cu(II) formal oxidation state with a minor contribution from Cu(III), whereas two out of three oxygen anions possess a radical character. These electronic properties, along with the high accessibility of the out-of-plane oxygen center, make this oxygen the preferred site for the homolytic C-H activation of methane by [Cu₃(μ-O)₃]²⁺. These new insights aid in the construction of a theoretical framework for the design of novel catalysts for oxyfunctionalization of natural gas and suggest further spectroscopic examination.

Alkane Oxidation: Methane Monooxygenases, Related Enzymes, and Their Biomimetics

Methane monooxygenases (MMOs) mediate the facile conversion of methane into methanol in methanotrophic bacteria with high efficiency under ambient conditions. Because the selective oxidation of methane is extremely challenging, there is considerable interest in understanding how these enzymes carry out this difficult chemistry. The impetus of these efforts is to learn from the microbes to develop a biomimetic catalyst to accomplish the same chemical transformation. Here, we review the progress made over the past two to three decades toward delineating the structures and functions of the catalytic sites in two MMOs: soluble methane monooxygenase (sMMO) and particulate methane monooxygenase (pMMO). sMMO is a water-soluble three-component protein complex consisting of a hydroxylase with a nonheme diiron catalytic site; pMMO is a membrane-bound metalloenzyme with a unique tricopper cluster as the site of hydroxylation. The metal cluster in each of these MMOs harnesses O₂ to functionalize the C-H bond using different chemistry. We highlight some of the common basic principles that they share. Finally, the development of functional models of the catalytic sites of MMOs is described. These efforts have culminated in the first successful biomimetic catalyst capable of efficient methane oxidation without overoxidation at room temperature.

Self-assembly generation, structural features, and oxidation catalytic properties of new aqua-soluble copper(ii)-aminoalcohol derivatives

Multidentate aminoalcohols were applied as unexplored building blocks to generate two novel Cu(ii) coordination compounds that act as efficient catalysts for the mild and acid-promoter-free oxidation of C₅–C₈ cycloalkanes.

Methane conversion into different hydrocarbons or oxygenates: current status and future perspectives in catalyst development and reactor operation

This Perspective highlights recent developments in methane conversion into different hydrocarbons and C₁-oxygenates. Our analysis identified possible directions for further research to bring the above approaches to a commercial level.

Penetrating the Elusive Mechanism of Copper-Mediated Fluoromethylation in the Presence of Oxygen through the Gas-Phase Reactivity of Well-Defined [LCuO](+) Complexes with Fluoromethanes (CH(4-n)Fn, n = 1-3)

Traveling wave ion mobility spectrometry (TWIMS) isomer separation was exploited to react the particularly well-defined ionic species [LCuO](+) (L = 1,10-phenanthroline) with the neutral fluoromethane substrates CH(4-n)Fn (n = 1-3) in the gas phase. Experimentally, the monofluoromethane substrate (n = 1) undergoes both hydrogen-atom transfer, forming the copper hydroxide complex [LCuOH](•+) and concomitantly a CH2F(•) radical, and oxygen-atom transfer, yielding the observable ionic product [LCu](+) plus the neutral oxidized substrate [C,H3,O,F]. DFT calculations reveal that the mechanism for both product channels relies on the initial C-H bond activation of the substrate. Compared to nonfluorinated methane, the addition of fluorine to the substrate assists the reactivity through a lowering of the C-H bond energy and reaction preorganization (through noncovalent interaction in the encounter complex). A two-state reactivity scenario is mandatory for the oxidation, which competitively results in the unusual fluoromethanol product, CH2FOH, or the decomposed products, CH2O and HF, with the latter channel being kinetically disfavored. Difluoromethane (n = 2) is predicted to undergo the analogous reactions at room temperature, although the reactions are less favored than those of monofluoromethane. The reaction of trifluoromethane (n = 3, fluoroform) through C-H activation is kinetically hindered under ambient conditions but might be expected to occur in the condensed phase upon heating or with further lowering of reaction barriers through templation with counterions, such as potassium. Overall, formation of CH(3-n)Fn(•) and CH(3-n)FnOH occurs under relatively gentle energetic conditions, which sheds light on their potential as reactive intermediates in fluoromethylation reactions mediated by copper in the presence of oxygen.

Disruptive catalysis by zeolites

Emerging concepts and novel possibilities in catalysis by zeolites for a new scenario in chemical and energy vector production.

Synthesis, structure and magnetic properties of hydroxychlorides A3Cu3(OH)Cl8 (A = Cs, Rb) with isolated tricopper

A₃Cu₃(OH)Cl₈ (A = Cs, Rb) features an isolated triangular building unit of [Cu₃(OH)Cl₈]³⁻, displaying ferromagnetic coupling via the Cu(2)–Cl(5)–Cu(3) route.