The ultrafast proton transfer dynamics of homogeneous formic acid clusters (FA), < 10, are investigated with femtosecond time-resolved mass spectrometry. We monitor the proton transfer pathway following Rydberg state electronic relaxation and find that successful ion pair formation increases logarithmically with cluster size. Ab initio calculations demonstrate similar excitation/relaxation behavior for each cluster, revealing a contact ion pair forms between two molecules composing the cluster before finally a formate anion (HCOO) is dissociated by the probe pulse. The sub-ps time scale for rearrangement and proton transfer increases almost linearly with cluster size, requiring ∼67 fs per additional formic acid molecule and ranging from 213 ± 51 fs for the trimer to 667 ± 116 fs for FA. The near-linear trends measured for both rearrangement lifetime and ion pair formation suggest that proton transfer is unlikely in the formic acid dimer but becomes prominent in small clusters.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpclett.3c01654 | DOI Listing |
Metal oxides are promising catalysts for small molecule hydrogen chemistries, mediated by interfacial proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) processes. Engineering the mechanism of PCET has been shown to control the selectivity of reduced products, providing an additional route for improving reductive catalysis with metal oxides. In this work, we present kinetic resolution of the rate determining proton-transfer step of PCET to a titanium-doped POV, TiVO(OCH) with 9,10-dihydrophenazine by monitoring the loss of the cationic radical intermediate using stopped-flow analysis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChemistry
January 2025
University of Oxford, Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory, UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND.
Combining experiment and theory, the mechanisms of H2 activation by the potassium-bridged aluminyl dimer K2[Al(NON)]2 (NON = 4,5-bis(2,6-diisopropylanilido)-2,7-di-tertbutyl-9,9-dimethylxanthene) and its monomeric K+-sequestered counterpart have been investigated. These systems show diverging reactivity towards the activation of dihydrogen, with the dimeric species undergoing formal oxidative addition of H2 at each Al centre under ambient conditions, and the monomer proving to be inert to dihydrogen addition. Noting that this K+ dependence is inconsistent with classical models of single-centre reactivity for carbene-like Al(I) species, we rationalize these observations instead by a cooperative frustrated Lewis pair (FLP)-type mechanism (for the dimer) in which the aluminium centre acts as the Lewis base and the K+ centres as Lewis acids.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPhys Chem Chem Phys
January 2025
Key Laboratory of Soft Chemistry and Functional Materials of MOE, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing 210094, P. R. China.
2-(2-Hydroxyphenyl)benzothiazole (HBT) derivatives with donor-π-acceptor (D-π-A) structure have received extensive attention as a class of excited state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) compounds in the fields of biochemistry and photochemistry. The effects of electron-donors (triphenylamine and anthracenyl), the position of substituents and solvent polarity on the fluorescence properties and ESIPT mechanisms of HBT derivatives were investigated through time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) calculations. Potential energy curves (PECs) and frontier molecular orbitals (FMOs) reveal that the introduction of the triphenylamine group on the benzene ring enhances intramolecular HB, thereby benefiting the ESIPT process.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChem Commun (Camb)
January 2025
Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, Florida, 32901, USA.
Metastable-state photoacid (mPAH) has become a common tool for controlling and driving chemical processes with light. However, previously developed mPAHs could not be used for reversible protonation of strong bases, including many common amines and heterocycles. In this work, we developed a novel mPAH using benzimidazole as the structural moiety with the active proton.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Child Neurol
January 2025
Department of Pediatrics, Division of Child Neurology, Ankara Etlik City Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.
Mitochondrial complex I transfers electrons from NADH (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) to ubiquinone, facilitating ATP synthesis via a proton gradient. Complex I defects are common among the mitochondrial diseases, especially in childhood. , located in complex I's transmembrane domain, is not directly involved in catalytic activity, but the mutations are associated with Leigh syndrome and complex I defects.
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