Electrochemical behavior of calix[4]arenediquinones and their cation binding properties

Carbonyl-Based Redox-Active Compounds as Organic Electrodes for Batteries: Escape from Middle-High Redox Potentials and Further Improvement?

Extracting─from the vast space of organic compounds─the best electrode candidates for achieving energy material breakthrough requires the identification of the microscopic causes and origins of various macroscopic features, including notably electrochemical and conduction properties. As a first guess of their capabilities, molecular DFT calculations and quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM)-derived indicators were applied to explore the family of pyrano[3,2-b]pyran-2,6-dione (PPD, i.e., A0) compounds, expanded to A0 fused with various kinds of rings (benzene, fluorinated benzene, thiophene, and merged thiophene/benzene). A glimpse of up-to-now elusive key incidences of introducing oxygen in vicinity to the carbonyl redox center within 6MRs─as embedded in the A0 core central unit common to all A-type compounds─has been gained. Furthermore, the main driving force toward achieving modulated low redox potential/band gaps thanks to fusing the aromatic rings for the A compound series was discovered.

A tool for deciphering the redox potential ranking of organic compounds: a case study of biomass-extracted quinones for sustainable energy

Carbonyl compounds have emerged as promising organic electrodes for sustainable energy storage. Accelerating the process of performant materials discovery relies on the possibility of developing methodologies to enable scanning of various sets of candidates. The genesis of this educated guess strategy must be privileged to reduce the search space of experiments, accelerate this research area and contribute to sustainable effort. To address this challenge, we built a quantitative structure-activity relationship to unveil the origin of the redox potential magnitude as a function of both structural features and complexation effects. The potential of this prediction model was demonstrated on various ortho-quinones directly derived from naturally occurring catechols. In addition to the modulation provided by substituent changes, the possibility of applying various types of alkaline(-earth)-ion electrochemistry was examined thoroughly. The power of partitioning the total molecular energy into additive atomic group contributions is highlighted, and the construction of this robust strategy provides guidance towards rational selection of the most suitable compound/metal-ion couples. An upshift/downshift of the redox potential by switching from Li to Mg/Na is revealed, while the identification of the relative role played by the various components of the systems as well as electrostatic interactions is clearly identified. These results, particularly the evidence of the different substituent effects on the single/double reduction potentials and as a function of the type of electrochemistry (Li/Na/Mg), have important implications for designing new electroactive compounds with tailored redox properties.

Designed metalloprotein stabilizes a semiquinone radical

Enzymes use binding energy to stabilize their substrates in high-energy states that are otherwise inaccessible at ambient temperature. Here we show that a de novo designed Zn(II) metalloprotein stabilizes a chemically reactive organic radical that is otherwise unstable in aqueous media. The protein binds tightly to and stabilizes the radical semiquinone form of 3,5-di-tert-butylcatechol. Solution NMR spectroscopy in conjunction with molecular dynamics simulations show that the substrate binds in the active site pocket where it is stabilized by metal-ligand interactions as well as by burial of its hydrophobic groups. Spectrochemical redox titrations show that the protein stabilized the semiquinone by reducing the electrochemical midpoint potential for its formation via the one-electron oxidation of the catechol by approximately 400 mV (9 kcal mol(-1)). Therefore, the inherent chemical properties of the radical were changed drastically by harnessing its binding energy to the metalloprotein. This model sets the basis for designed enzymes with radical cofactors to tackle challenging chemistry.

Control of reaction pathways in the photochemical reaction of a quinone with tetramethylethylene by metal binding

The present study reports a novel supramolecular photochemical reaction that focuses on the direct electronic interactions between a host reaction substrate and guest metal salts. The reaction pathways in the photochemical reactions of quinone derivatives bearing a methoxy group and a long oligoether sidearm QEn (n = 0 and 3) with tetramethylethylene (TME) are changed upon noncovalent complexations of the host reactant with alkali and alkaline earth metal ions and a transition metal salt. The photochemical reaction of QEn with TME provides a mixture of [2 + 2] cycloadducts 1aEn and 1bEn, hydroquinone H2QEn, and monoallyl ether adducts of hydroquinones 2aEn and 2bEn. The photochemical reaction proceeds by the photoinduced electron transfer mechanism, where photoirradiation brings about formation of a radical ion pair [QEn˙(-), TME˙(+)] as the primary intermediate. We found that the yields and selectivity of these photoproducts are changed upon electronic interactions of QEn˙(-) with the metal salts. The photochemical reaction in the absence of metal salts provides H2QEn as its major product, whereas QE3, having the long sidearm, dominantly produces 2aE3 at the expense of 1aE3, 1bE3, and H2QE3 when it forms a size-favorable host-guest complex with divalent Ca(2+). In contrast, QEn selectively provides oxetanes 1aEn and 1bEn in the presence of Pd(OAc)2, which can form complexes with the quinone through metal-olefin and coordination interactions in the ground and photoexcited states of the quinone.

Electrochemical and spectral studies of auto-assembled arrays of calix[4]arenequinhydrone charge-transfer complex on indium-tin oxide (ITO) glass

A sensing materiel based on calix[4]arene molecules is electrochemically deposited on ITO electrode coated. A brown film was electrodeposited at a potential E_imp = –1.00 V versus SCE in acetonitrile solvent, however in dichloromethane solvent, a bluish film auto-assembled on the ITO electrode coated at a potential E_imp = −0.65 V versus SCE. Both films are subsequently analyzed by cyclic voltammetry and UV–Vis spectroscopy. This investigation shows that in acetonitrile solvent, the charge-transfer complex, calix[4]arenequinhydrone was formed in electrolytic solution and it was not self-assembled on the ITO electrode. The related UV–Vis spectrum shows a single absorption band towards a wavelength about 350 nm. The optical behaviour of the blue film shows two absorption bands: the first one appears on the first absorption band of the acceptor at 305 nm and the second one in the visible range at 502 nm. The band situated in the visible range correspond to a well-defined charge-transfer band indicating the presence of the charge-transfer complex, the calix[4]arenequinhydrone.

Electrochemical Reduction of Quinones in Different Media: A Review

The electron transfer reactions involving quinones, hydroquinones, and catechols are very important in many areas of chemistry, especially in biological systems. The therapeutic efficiency as well as toxicity of anthracycline anticancer drugs, a class of anthraquinones, is governed by their electrochemical properties. Other quinones serve as important functional moiety in various biological systems like electron-proton carriers in the respiratory chain and their involvement in photosynthetic electron flow systems. The present paper summarizes literatures on the reduction of quinones in different solvents under various conditions using different electrochemical methods. The influence of different reaction conditions including pH of the media, nature of supporting electrolytes, nature of other additives, intramolecular or intermolecular hydrogen bonding, ion pair formation, polarity of the solvents, stabilization of the semiquinone and quinone dianion, catalytic property, and adsorption at the electrode surface, are discussed and relationships between reaction conditions and products formed have been presented.

Synthesis and binding characteristics of novel calix[4]arene(amidocrown) diquinones

A series of new calix[4]arene(amidocrown) diquinones (3a–3d) have been synthesized, characterized, and evaluated for cation recognition. It has been observed that 3b interacts with alkali metal ions (Li+, Na+, and K+) and ammonium ions to induce an unprecedented downfield shift in the NH proton resonance, which can be attributed to polarization of the amidocrown ring of the calix[4]arene diquinone receptor. The observation has been confirmed by a significant anodic shift (Li+ > NH4+ > Na+> K+) of the corresponding amidocrown-diquinone redox couple in cyclic and square wave voltammetric experiments. Both NMR and electrochemical studies of the binding characteristics of 3b with alkali metal cations and ammonium ions revealed a 1:1 binding stoichiometry for all and exhibited the highest association constant for lithium ions. This indicated that the receptor 3b selectively binds the lithium ion in preference to other alkali metal cations and ammonium ions.

Bis(calixcrown)tetrathiafulvalene Receptors

A new class of electroactive receptors has been synthesized, built by covalent association of five subunits: two calixarene platforms for spatial organization, two polyether 3D cavities for cation binding, and one electroactive TTF unit to probe the complexation event. Sodium complexation induces rigidification of the molecular assembly, as shown by 1H NMR titration and single-crystal X-ray crystallographic studies on free receptor 14 and a corresponding complex with two bound sodium atoms per receptor (15-(NaPF6)2). The calixarene units in these receptors change from a pinched cone conformation in the free ligand to a symmetrical cone in the complex. Cyclovoltammetric studies validated the electrochemical recognition concept of these five-member assemblies.

Self-assembled monolayer of a redox-active calix[4]arene: voltammetric recognition of the Ba2+ ion in aqueous media

The Redox-active monolayer of a novel calix[4]arene recognizing redox-inactive ionic species by voltammetry is reported. Calix[4]arene-disulfide-diquinone, which is not only redox-active but is also a highly selective ionophore for the Ba2+ ion, spontaneously forms a stable and dense monolayer film on gold. The redox-active calixarene monolayer selectively recognizes Ba2+ ion in aqueous media, and the voltammetric signals are proportional to the ionic concentration. A new voltammetric peak can be detected by square-wave voltammetry upon adding a dilute solution containing Ba2+ ion having a concentration as low as 1.0 x 10(-6) M. The Langmuir plot (1/ip vs 1/[Ba2+]) shows a linear slope in the range from 1.0 x 10(-6) M to 1.0 x 10(-4) M. This modified electrode does not show any significant interference from alkali and alkaline earth metal ions except for Sr2+ and Ca2+. Only 100- and 500-fold concentrations of Sr2+ and Ca2+ ions, respectively, can lead to voltammetric responses comparable to that of Ba2+.