Dynamics of Intramolecular Electron Transfer in Dinitrodibenzodioxin Radical Anions

Evaluation of various natural weeds and reaction conditions for reductive degradation of 1,3-dinitrobenzene

1,3-Dinitrobenzene (1,3-DNB) is listed by the USEPA as a priority pollutant. 1,3-DNB has two nitro functional groups (-NO₂) bound to the benzene ring, with a +III nitrogen oxidation states, and strong electronegativity, and therefore can be reductively degraded by gaining electrons. Weeds that contain a high proportion of polyphenols can supply electrons and act as natural reducing agents. This study investigated the potential of various weeds to reductively remove 1,3-DNB from aqueous phase. The Taguchi L9 Orthogonal experimental design method was used to explore the optimum operational parameters. According to the analyzed characteristics of weeds, including total phenol content, antioxidant capacity, metal chelating capacity, reducing capacity, and environmental adaptability, the weed Sphagneticola trilobata, containing 11.93 mg of gallic acid equivalent per gram of weed (mg-GAE/g-weed), was selected for 1,3-DNB degradation experiments. The results showed that the optimum reaction conditions for the degradation of 1,3-DNB in the aqueous phase using Sphagneticola trilobata were: pH 3, a weed dose of 10 g/L, reaction time of 14 day, and initial 1,3-DNB concentration of 0.5 mM. According to ANOVA analysis, the weed dose was the most significant factor in the experiment, and each 1 mg of 1,3-DNB degraded required 120 mg of dry weeds.

Nature of electrogenerated intermediates in nitro-substituted nor-β-lapachones: the structure of radical species during successive electron transfer in multiredox centers

Electrochemical, spectroelectrochemical, and theoretical studies of the reduction reactions in nor-β-lapachone derivatives including a nitro redox center showed that reduction of the compounds involves the formation of several radical intermediates, including a biradical dianion resultant from the separate reduction of the quinone and nitro groups in the molecules. Theoretical descriptions of the corresponding Fukui functions f(αα)⁺ and f(ββ)⁺(r) and LUMO densities considering finite differences and frozen core approximations for describing the changes in electron and spin densities of the system allowed us to confirm these results. A description of the potential relationship with the obtained results and biological activity selectivity indexes suggests that both the formation of stable biradical dianion species and the stability of the semiquinone intermediates during further reduction are determining factors in the description of their biological activity.

Mechanically induced intramolecular electron transfer in a mixed-valence molecular shuttle

The kinetics and thermodynamics of intramolecular electron transfer (IET) can be subjected to redox control in a bistable [2]rotaxane comprised of a dumbbell component containing an electron-rich 1,5-dioxynaphthalene (DNP) unit and an electron-poor phenylene-bridged bipyridinium (P-BIPY(2+)) unit and a cyclobis (paraquat-p-phenylene) (CBPQT(4+)) ring component. The [2]rotaxane exists in the ground-state co-conformation (GSCC) wherein the CBPQT(4+) ring encircles the DNP unit. Reduction of the CBPQT(4+) leads to the CBPQT(2(•+)) diradical dication while the P-BIPY(2+) unit is reduced to its P-BIPY(•+) radical cation. A radical-state co-conformation (RSCC) results from movement of the CBPQT(2(•+)) ring along the dumbbell to surround the P-BIPY(•+) unit. This shuttling event induces IET to occur between the pyridinium redox centers of the P-BIPY(•+) unit, a property which is absent between these redox centers in the free dumbbell and in the 1:1 complex formed between the CBPQT(2(•+)) ring and the radical cation of methyl-phenylene-viologen (MPV(•+)). Using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, the process of IET was investigated by monitoring the line broadening at varying temperatures and determining the rate constant (k(ET) = 1.33 x 10(7) s(-1)) and activation energy (ΔG(‡) = 1.01 kcal mol(-1)) for electron transfer. These values were compared to the corresponding values predicted, using the optical absorption spectra and Marcus-Hush theory.