Kinetics of Dissociation of Molecular Oxygen from a Superoxorhodium(III) Complex and Reactivity of a Macrocyclic Rhodium(II) Ion

Reduction of nitrous acid with a macrocyclic rhodium complex that acts as a functional model of nitrite reductase

Nitrous acid reacts with L(2)(H(2)O)Rh(2+) (L(2) = meso-hexamethylcyclam) in acidic aqueous solutions to generate a strongly absorbing intermediate Int-1 (λ(max) 400 nm, ε = 1200 M(-1) cm(-1)). The reaction follows a mixed second order rate law with k = (6.9 ± 0.3) × 10(4) M(-1) s(-1), independent of [H(+)]. The lack of acid dependence shows that Int-1 is a rhodium(II) complex of HNO(2), most reasonably assigned as L(2)(H(2)O)Rh(HNO(2))(2+). This species is analogous to the early iron and copper intermediates in the reduction of nitrite by nitrite reductases and by deoxyhemoglobin. In the presence of excess L(2)(H(2)O)Rh(2+), the lifetime of Int-1 is about 1 min. It decays to a 1:1 mixture of L(2)(H(2)O)RhNO(2+) and L(2)Rh(H(2)O)(2)(3+) with kinetics that are largely independent of the concentration of excess L(2)(H(2)O)Rh(2+) and of [H(+)] at [H(+)] < 0.03 M. At [H(+)] > 0.03 M, an acid-catalyzed pathway becomes effective, suggesting protonation and dehydration of Int-1 to generate L(2)(H(2)O)RhNO(3+) (Int-2) followed by rapid reduction of Int-2 by excess L(2)(H(2)O)Rh(2+). Int-2, which was generated and characterized independently, is an analog of the electrophilic intermediates in the mechanism of biological reduction of nitrite to (•)NO. Excess nitrite greatly reduces the lifetime of Int-1, which under such conditions decomposes on a millisecond time scale by nitrite-catalyzed disproportionation to yield L(2)(H(2)O)RhNO(2+) and L(2)Rh(III). This reaction provides additional support for the designation of Int-1 as a Rh(II) species. The complex reaction mechanism and the detection of Int-1 demonstrate the ability of inorganic complexes to perform the fundamental chemistry believed to take place in the biological reduction of HNO(2) to NO catalyzed by nitrite reductases or deoxyhemoglobin.

Kinetics and mechanism of the reduction of a macrocyclic Rh(III) complex by chromium(II) ions: pH-controlled selectivity to rhodium(II) vs. rhodium(III) hydride

Aqueous chromium(II) ions reduce a macrocyclic Rh(III) complex L(1)(H(2)O)(2)Rh(3+) (L(1) = 1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane) to the hydride L(1)(H(2)O)RhH(2+) in two discrete, one-electron steps. The first step generates L(1)(H(2)O)Rh(2+) with kinetics that are first order in each rhodium(III) complex and Cr(H(2)O)(6)(2+), and inverse in [H(+)], k/M(-1) s(-1) = 0.065/(0.0031 + [H(+)]). Further reduction of L(1)(H(2)O)Rh(2+) to L(1)(H(2)O)RhH(2+) is kinetically independent of [H(+)], k/M(-1) s(-1) = 0.30. The difference in [H(+)] dependence allows relative rates of the two steps to be manipulated to generate either L(1)(H(2)O)Rh(2+) or L(1)(H(2)O)RhH(2+) as the final product.

Oxygen activation with transition-metal complexes in aqueous solution

Coordination to transition-metal complexes changes both the thermodynamics and kinetics of oxygen reduction. Some of the intermediates (superoxo, hydroperoxo, and oxo species) are close analogues of organic oxygen-centered radicals and peroxides (ROO(*), ROOH, and RO(*)). Metal-based intermediates are typically less reactive, but more persistent, than organic radicals, which makes the two types of intermediates similarly effective in their reactions with various substrates. The self-exchange rate constant for hydrogen-atom transfer for the couples Cr(aq)OO(2+)/Cr(aq)OOH(2+) and L(1)(H(2)O)RhOO(2+)/L(1)(H(2)O)RhOOH(2+) was estimated to be 10(1+/-1) M(-1) s(-1). The use of this value in the simplified Marcus equation for the Cr(aq)O(2+)/Cr(aq)OOH(2+) cross reaction provided an upper limit k(CrO,CrOH) <or= 10((-2+/-1)) M(-1) s(-1) for Cr(aq)O(2+)/Cr(aq)OH(2+) self-exchange. Even though superoxo complexes react very slowly in bimolecular self-reactions, extremely fast cross reactions with organic counterparts, i.e., acylperoxyl radicals, have been observed. Many of the intermediates generated by the interaction of O(2) with reduced metal complexes can also be accessed by alternative routes, both thermal and photochemical.