Investigation of iron-ammine and amido complexes within a C3-symmetrical phosphinic amido tripodal ligand

The profound review of Fenton process: What's the next step?

Fenton and Fenton-like processes, which could produce highly reactive species to degrade organic contaminants, have been widely used in the field of wastewater treatment. Therein, the chemistry of Fenton process including the nature of active oxidants, the complicated reactions involved, and the behind reason for its strongly pH-dependent performance, is the basis for the application of Fenton and Fenton-like processes in wastewater treatment. Nevertheless, the conflicting views still exist about the mechanism of the Fenton process. For instance, reaching a unanimous consensus on the nature of active oxidants (hydroxyl radical or tetravalent iron) in this process remains challenging. This review comprehensively examined the mechanism of the Fenton process including the debate on the nature of active oxidants, reactions involved in the Fenton process, and the behind reason for the pH-dependent degradation of contaminants in the Fenton process. Then, we summarized several strategies that promote the Fe(II)/Fe(III) cycle, reduce the competitive consumption of active oxidants by side reactions, and replace the Fenton reagent, thus improving the performance of the Fenton process. Furthermore, advances for the future were proposed including the demand for the high-accuracy identification of active oxidants and taking advantages of the characteristic of target contaminants during the degradation of contaminants by the Fenton process.

Synthesis, characterization and reactivity of a Mn(III)-hydroxido complex as a biomimetic model for lipoxygenase

Manganese hydroxido (Mn-OH) complexes supported by a tripodal N,N',N″-[nitrilotris(ethane-2,1-diyl)]tris(P,P-diphenylphosphinic amido) ([poat]3-) ligand have been synthesized and characterized by spectroscopic techniques including UV-vis and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopies. X-ray diffraction (XRD) methods were used to confirm the solid-state molecular structures of {Na2[MnIIpoat(OH)]}2 and {Na[MnIIIpoat(OH)]}2 as clusters that are linked by the electrostatic interactions between the sodium counterions and the oxygen atom of the ligated hydroxido unit and the phosphinic (P=O) amide groups of [poat]3-. Both clusters feature two independent monoanionic fragments in which each contains a trigonal bipyramidal Mn center that is comprised of three equatorial deprotonated amide nitrogen atoms, an apical tertiary amine, and an axial hydroxido ligand. XRD analyses of {Na[MnIIIpoat(OH)]}2 also showed an intramolecular hydrogen bonding interaction between the MnIII-OH unit and P=O group of [poat]3-. Crystalline {Na[MnIIIpoat(OH)]}2 remains as clusters with Na+---O interactions in solution and is unreactive toward external substrates. However, conductivity studies indicated that [MnIIIpoat(OH)]- generated in situ is monomeric and reactivity studies found that it is capable of cleaving C-H bonds, illustrating the importance of solution-phase speciation and its direct effect on chemical reactivity. Synopsis: Manganese-hydroxido complexes were synthesized to study the influence of H-bonds in the secondary coordination sphere and their effects on the oxidative cleavage of substrates containing C-H bonds.

Accessing a synthetic FeIIIMnIV core to model biological heterobimetallic active sites

Metalloproteins with dinuclear cores are known to bind and activate dioxygen, with a subclass of these proteins having active sites containing FeMn cofactors and activities ranging from long-range proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) to post-translational peptide modification. While mechanistic studies propose that these metallocofactors access FeIIIMnIV intermediates, there is a dearth of related synthetic analogs. Herein, the first well-characterized synthetic FeIII-(μ-O)-MnIV complex is reported; this complex shows similar spectroscopic features as the catalytically competent FeIIIMnIV intermediate X found in Class Ic ribonucleotide reductase and demonstrates PCET function towards phenolic substrates. This complex is prepared from the oxidation of the isolable FeIII-(μ-O)-MnIII species, whose stepwise assembly is facilitated by a tripodal ligand containing phosphinic amido groups. Structural and spectroscopic studies found proton movement involving the FeIIIMnIII core, whereby the initial bridging hydroxido ligand is converted to an oxido ligand with concomitant protonation of one phosphinic amido group. This series of FeMn complexes allowed us to address factors that may dictate the preference of an active site for a heterobimetallic cofactor over one that is homobimetallic: comparisons of the redox properties of our FeMn complexes with those of the di-Fe analogs suggested that the relative thermodynamic ease of accessing an FeIIIMnIV core can play an important role in determining the metal ion composition when the key catalytic steps do not require an overly potent oxidant. Moreover, these complexes allowed us to demonstrate the effect of the hyperfine interaction from non-Fe nuclei on 57Fe Mössbauer spectra which is relevant to MnFe intermediates in proteins.

Synthesis and Reactivity of Fe(II) Complexes Containing Cis Ammonia Ligands

The development of earth-abundant transition-metal complexes for electrocatalytic ammonia oxidation is needed to facilitate a renewable energy economy. Important to this goal is a fundamental understanding of how ammonia binds to complexes as a function of ligand geometry and electronic effects. We report the synthesis and characterization of a series of Fe(II)-NH3 complexes supported by tetradentate, facially binding ligands with a combination of pyridine and N-heterocyclic carbene donors. Electronic modification of the supporting ligand led to significant shifts in the FeIII/II potential and variations in NH bond acidities. Finally, investigations of ammonia oxidation by cyclic voltammetry, controlled potential bulk electrolysis, and through addition of stoichiometric organic radicals, TEMPO and tBu3ArO• are reported. No catalytic oxidation of NH3 to N2 was observed, and 15N2 was detected only in reactions with tBu3ArO•.

Towards Substrate-Reagent Interaction of Lochmann-Schlosser Bases in THF: Bridging THF Hides Potential Reaction Site of a Chiral Superbase

The metalation of N,N-dimethylaminomethylferrocene in THF by the superbasic mixture of ⁿ BuLi/KO^t Bu proceeds readily at low temperatures to afford a bimetallic Li₂ K₂ aggregate containing ferrocenyl anions and tert-butoxide. Starting from an enantiomerically enriched ortho-lithiated aminomethylferrocene, an enantiomerically pure superbase can be prepared. The molecular compound exhibits superbasic behavior deprotonating N,N-dimethylbenzylamine in the α-position and is also capable of deprotonating toluene. Quantum chemical calculations provide insight into the role of the bridging THF molecule to the possible substrate-reagent interaction. In addition, a benzylpotassium alkoxide adduct gives a closer look into the corresponding reaction site of the Lochmann-Schlosser base that is reported herein.

Synthesis of FeIII and FeIV Cyanide Complexes Using Hypervalent Iodine Reagents as Cyano-Transfer One-Electron Oxidants

We disclose a new reactivity mode for electrophilic cyano λ3 -iodanes as group transfer one-electron oxidants to synthesize FeIII and FeIV cyanide complexes. The inherent thermal instability of high-valent FeIV compounds without π-donor ligands (such as oxido (O2- ), imido (RN2- ) or nitrido (N3- )) makes their isolation and structural characterization a very challenging task. We report the synthesis of an FeIV cyanide complex [(N3 N')FeCN] (4) by two consecutive single electron transfer (SET) processes from FeII precursor [(N3 N')FeLi(THF)] (1) with cyanobenziodoxolone (CBX). The FeIV complex can also be prepared by reaction of [(N3 N')FeIII ] (3) with CBX. In contrast, the oxidation of FeII with 1-cyano-3,3-dimethyl-3-(1H)-1,2-benziodoxole (CDBX) enables the preparation of FeIII cyanide complex [(N3 N')FeIII (CN)(Li)(THF)3 ] (2-LiTHF ). Complexes 4 and 2-LiTHF have been structurally characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction and their electronic structure has been examined by Mössbauer, EPR spectroscopy, and computational analyses.