Theoretical insights into heme-catalyzed oxidation of cyclohexane to adipic acid.

Adipic acid is a key compound in the chemical industry, where it is mainly used in the production of polymers. The conventional process of its generation requires vast amounts of energy and, moreover, produces environmentally deleterious substances. Thus, there is interest in alternative ways to gain adequate amounts of adipic acid.

DFT study on the catalytic reactivity of a functional model complex for intradiol-cleaving dioxygenases.

The enzymatic ring cleavage of catechol derivatives is catalyzed by two groups of dioxygenases: extradiol- and intradiol-cleaving dioxygenases. Although having different oxidation state of their nonheme iron sites and different ligand coordinations, both groups of enzymes involve a common peroxy intermediate in their catalytic cycles. The factors that lead to either extradiol cleavage resulting in 2-hydroxymuconaldehyde or intradiol cleavage resulting in muconic acid are not fully understood.

Observed enhancement of the reactivity of a biomimetic diiron complex by the addition of water - mechanistic insights from theoretical modeling.

The biomimetic diiron complex [Fe(III)Fe(IV)(mu-O)(2)(5-Me(3)-TPA)(2)](ClO(4))(3) (TPA = tris(2-pyridylmethyl)amine) has been found to be capable of oxidizing 9,10-dihydroanthracene in a solution of acetonitrile. Addition of water up to 1 M makes the reaction 200 times faster, suggesting that the water molecule in some way activates the catalyst for more efficient substrate oxidation. It is proposed that the enhanced reactivity results from the coordination of a water molecule to the iron(III) half of the complex, converting the bis-mu-oxo structure of the diiron complex to a ring-opened form where one of the bridging oxo groups is transformed into a terminal oxo group on iron(IV).

Theoretical investigation on the oxidative chlorination performed by a biomimetic non-heme iron catalyst.

The present study is a part of an effort to understand the mechanism of the oxidative chlorination, as performed by a biomimetic non-heme iron complex. This catalytically active complex is generated from a peroxide and [(TPA)Fe(III)Cl(2)]+ [TPA is tris(2-pyridylmethyl)amine]. The reaction catalyzed by [(TPA)FeCl(2)]+/ROOH involves either [(TPA)ClFe(V)=O](2+) or [(TPA)ClFe(IV)=O]+ as an intermediate.

Cooperative effects in the activation of molecular oxygen by anionic silver clusters.

A novel size dependence in the adsorption reaction of multiple O2 molecules onto anionic silver clusters Agn- (n = 1-5) is revealed by gas-phase reaction studies in an rf-ion trap. Ab initio theoretical modeling based on DFT method provides insight into the reaction mechanism and finds cooperative electronic and structural effects to be responsible for the size selective reactivity of Agn- clusters toward one or more O2. In particular, Agn- clusters with odd n have paired electrons and therefore bind one O2 only weakly, but they are simultaneously activated to adsorb a strongly bound second oxygen molecule.