Roman Flyunt

Dimethylselenide as a Probe for Reactions of Halogenated Alkoxyl Radicals in Aqueous Solution. Degradation of Dichloro- and Dibromomethane

Using pulse radiolysis and steady-state gamma-radiolysis techniques, it has been established that, in air-saturated aqueous solutions, peroxyl radicals CH 2HalOO (*) (Hal = halogen) derived from CH 2Cl 2 and CH 2Br 2 react with dimethyl selenide (Me 2Se), with k on the order of 7 x 10 (7) M (-1) s (-1), to form HCO 2H, CH 2O, CO 2, and CO as final products. An overall two-electron oxidation process leads directly to dimethyl selenoxide (Me 2SeO), along with oxyl radical CH 2HalO (*). The latter subsequently oxidizes another Me 2Se molecule by a much faster one-electron transfer mechanism, leading to the formation of equal yields of CH 2O and the dimer radical cation (Me 2Se) 2 (*+). In absolute terms, these yields amount to 18% and 28% of the CH 2ClO (*) and CH 2BrO (*) yields, respectively, at 1 mM Me 2Se. In competition, CH 2HalO (*) rearranges into (*)CH(OH)Hal. These C-centered radicals react further via two pathways: (a) Addition of an oxygen molecule leads to the corresponding peroxyl radicals, that is, species prone to decomposition into H (+)/O 2 (*-) and formylhalide, HC(O)Hal, which further degrades mostly to H (+)/Hal (-) and CO. (b) Elimination of HHal yields the formyl radical H-C(*)=O with a rate constant of about 6 x 10 (5) s (-1) for Hal = Cl. In an air-saturated solution, the predominant reaction pathway of the H-C(*)=O radical is addition of oxygen. The formylperoxyl radical HC(O)OO (*) thus formed reacts with Me 2Se via an overall two-electron transfer mechanism, giving additional Me 2SeO and formyloxyl radicals HC(O)O(*). The latter rearrange via a 1,2 H-atom shift into (*)C(O)OH, which reacts with O2 to give CO2 and O2(*)(-). The minor fraction of H-C(*)=O undergoes hydration, with an estimated rate constant of k approximately 2 x 10(5) s(-1). The resulting HC(*)(OH)2 radical, upon reaction with O2, yields HCO 2H and H (+)/O2(*-). Some of the conclusions about the reactions of halogenated alkoxyl radicals are supported by quantum chemical calculations [B3LYP/6-31G(d,p)] taking into account the influence of water as a dielectric continuum [by the self-consistent reaction field polarized continuum model (SCRF=PCM) technique]. Based on detailed product studies, mechanisms are proposed for the free-radical degradation of CH 2Cl 2 and CH 2Br 2 in the presence of oxygen and an electron donor (namely, Me 2Se in this study), and properties of the reactive intermediates are discussed.

Shedding light on the soft and efficient free radical induced reduction of graphene oxide: hidden mechanisms and energetics

Reduction of graphene oxide (GO) in aqueous dispersions by strongly reducing free radicals has recently been identified to be a very powerful approach, because functional groups are removed softly but efficiently, and non-volatile impurities as well as defects are largely avoided. However, the reaction mechanisms remained somewhat speculative. Recently we showed that GO can be efficiently reduced in water by indirect photoreduction mediated by (CH3)2C(OH) radicals generated via the reaction of triplet acetone with isopropanol. Those radicals efficiently defunctionalize oxo-groups of GO forming the carbon lattice without generating additional defects. In this comprehensive study we shed more light on the reaction mechanism of reduction of GO by H, CO2 -, (CH3)2C(OH) and CH3CH(OH) by combining pulsed radiolysis and determine its overall energetics via quantum-chemical calculations. In time-dependent experiments mechanistic insights have been obtained and unknown intermediates have been discovered. Moreover, different reduction mechanisms, such as radical addition, electron-transfer, concerted water elimination and HCO3 - elimination are identified. Here we show that all mechanisms lead to sp2-carbon formation and therefore high quality graphene by reductive defunctionalization.

Fast Degradation for High Activity: Oxygen- and Nitrogen-Functionalised Carbon Nanotubes in Solid-Acid Fuel-Cell Electrodes

Similar to polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells, the widespread application of solid acid fuel cells (SAFCs) has been hindered partly by the necessity of the use of the precious-metal catalyst Pt in the electrodes. Here we investigate multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) for their potential catalytic activity by using symmetric cell measurements of solid-acid-based electrochemical cells in a cathodic environment. For all measurements, the carbon nanotubes were Pt free and subject to either nitrogen or oxygen plasma treatment. AC impedance spectroscopy of the electrochemical cells, with and without a DC bias, was performed and showed significantly lower initial impedances for oxygen-plasma-treated MWCNTs compared to those treated with a nitrogen plasma. In symmetric cell measurements with a DC bias, the current declines quickly for oxygen-plasma-treated MWCNTs and more slowly, over 12 days, for nitrogen-plasma-treated MWCNTs. To elucidate the degradation mechanisms of the oxygen-plasma-treated MWCNTs under SAFC operating conditions, theoretical calculations were performed using DFT. The results indicate that several degradation mechanisms are likely to occur in parallel through the reduction of the surface oxygen groups that were introduced by the plasma treatment. This finally leads to an inert MWCNT surface and a very low electrode performance. Nitrogen-plasma-treated MWCNTs appear to have a higher stability and may be worthwhile for future investigations.

Structure and Bonding in Nickel-Thiolate-Iodine Charge-Transfer Complexes.

The dinuclear nickel complexes [Ni2 L(μ-O2 CR)](ClO4 ) [R=Me (4), R=OMe (6)], where L2- is a 24-membered macrocyclic N6 S2 ligand, react readily with excess I2 in MeCN solution at 4 °C to form stable mono-(I2 ) and bis-(I2 ) charge-transfer (CT) adducts of the type [Ni2 L(μ-O2 CR)(I2 )n ]+ (n=1 or 2) containing linear RS-I-I linkages. Three new CT compounds, namely, [Ni2 L(OAc)(I2 )](I2 )(I3 ) (5), [Ni2 L(O2 COMe)(I2 )](I5 )⋅MeCN (7⋅MeCN), and [Ni2 L(O2 COMe)(I2 )2 ](I5 )⋅MeCN (8⋅MeCN) as well as the triiodide salt [Ni2 L(OAc)](I3 ) (9) were synthesized and fully characterized. A common feature of the CT adducts is a polyiodide matrix, which surrounds the individual complex molecules, stabilized by secondary I⋅⋅⋅I interactions with the CT linkages. The scatter in both the RS-I (2.6 to 3.0 Å) and the I-I bond lengths (2.7 to 3.0 Å) is indicative of both a variable strength of the RS- →I2 bond and a varying degree of charge transfer. An analysis of the structural parameters was undertaken accompanied by DFT calculations to quantify the donating ability of the bridging thiolate functions and to shed more light on the bonding in this rare sort of charge-transfer complexes. The stability of the CT complexes and the results of preliminary transport measurements are also reported.