A competing, dual mechanism for catalytic direct benzene hydroxylation from combined experimental-DFT studies.

A dual mechanism for direct benzene catalytic hydroxylation is described. Experimental studies and DFT calculations have provided a mechanistic explanation for the acid-free, Tp Cu-catalyzed hydroxylation of benzene with hydrogen peroxide (Tp = hydrotrispyrazolylborate ligand). In contrast with other catalytic systems that promote this transformation through Fenton-like pathways, this system operates through a copper-oxyl intermediate that may interact with the arene ring following two different, competitive routes: (a) electrophilic aromatic substitution, with the copper-oxyl species acting as the formal electrophile, and (b) the so-called rebound mechanism, in which the hydrogen is abstracted by the Cu-O moiety prior to the C-O bond formation.

Introducing copper as catalyst for oxidative alkane dehydrogenation.

The dehydrogenation of n-hexane and cycloalkanes giving n-hexene and cycloalkenes has been observed in the reaction of such hydrocarbons with hydrogen peroxide, in the presence of copper complexes bearing trispyrazolylborate ligands. This catalytic transformation provides the typical oxidation products (alcohol and ketones) with small amounts of the alkenes, a novel feature in this kind of oxidative processes. Experimental data exclude the participation of hydroxyl radicals derived from Fenton-like reaction mechanisms.

Basic ancillary ligands promote O-O bond formation in iridium-catalyzed water oxidation: a DFT study.

The cationic iridium complex [Ir(OH(2))(2)(phpy)(2)](+) (phpy = o-phenylpyridine) is among the most efficient mononuclear catalysts for water oxidation. The postulated active species is the oxo complex [Ir(O)(X)(phpy)(2)](n), with X = OH(2) (n = +1), OH(-) (n = 0) or O(2-) (n = -1), depending on the pH. The reactivity of these species has been studied computationally at the DFT(B3LYP) level.