Shengfa Ye

Nonheme oxo-iron(IV) intermediates form an oxyl radical upon approaching the C–H bond activation transition state

Oxo-iron(IV) species are implicated as key intermediates in the catalytic cycles of heme and nonheme oxygen activating iron enzymes that selectively functionalize aliphatic C–H bonds. Ferryl complexes can exist in either quintet or triplet ground states. Density functional theory calculations predict that the quintet oxo-iron(IV) species is more reactive toward C–H bond activation than its corresponding triplet partner, however; the available experimental data on model complexes suggests that both spin multiplicities display comparable reactivities. To clarify this ambiguity, a detailed electronic structure analysis of alkane hydroxylation by an oxo-iron(IV) species on different spin-state potential energy surfaces is performed. According to our results, the lengthening of the Fe–oxo bond in ferryl reactants, which is the part of the reaction coordinate for H-atom abstraction, leads to the formation of oxyl-iron(III) species that then perform actual C–H bond activation. The differential reactivity stems from the fact that the two spin states have different requirements for the optimal angle at which the substrate should approach the (FeO)2+ core because distinct electron acceptor orbitals are employed on the two surfaces. The H-atom abstraction on the quintet surface favors the “σ-pathway” that requires an essentially linear attack; by contrast a “π-channel” is operative on the triplet surface that leads to an ideal attack angle near 90°. However, the latter is not possible due to steric crowding; thus, the attenuated orbital interaction and the unavoidably increased Pauli repulsion result in the lower reactivity of the triplet oxo-iron(IV) complexes.

Accurate Modeling of Spin-State Energetics in Spin-Crossover Systems with Modern Density Functional Theory

The energies of different spin multiplicities of a range of iron complexes are computed using modern density functional theory (DFT) methods of the generalized gradient approximation (GGA; BP86 and OPBE), meta-GGA (TPSS), hybrid meta-GGA (TPSSh), hybrid (B3LYP), and double-hybrid (B2PLYP) types. It is shown that so far only the double-hybrid density functional B2PLYP, in conjunction with large and flexible basis sets (def2-QZVPP), is able to provide qualitatively correct results of spin-state energetics for the investigated non-spin-crossover complexes. An energy difference of -6 to 0 kcal/mol is proposed to be indicative of spin-crossover behavior.

Calibration of modern density functional theory methods for the prediction of 57Fe Mössbauer isomer shifts: meta-GGA and double-hybrid functionals.

Five density functionals including GGA (generalized gradient approximation) (BP86), meta-GGA (TPSS), hybrid meta-GGA (TPSSh), hybrid (B3LYP), and double-hybrid functionals (B2PLYP) were calibrated for the prediction of 57Fe Mössbauer isomer shifts on a set of 20 iron-containing molecules. The influence of scalar relativistic effects and the basis set dependence of the predictions were investigated.

The Electronic Structure of Iron Corroles: A Combined Experimental and Quantum Chemical Study

There is a longstanding debate in the literature on the electronic structure of chloroiron corroles, especially for those containing the highly electron-withdrawing meso-tris(pentafluorophenyl)corrole (TPFC) ligand. Two alternative electronic structures were proposed for this and the related [FeCl(tdcc)] (TDCC=meso-tris(2,6-dichlorophenyl)corrole) complex, namely a high-valent ferryl species chelated by a trianionic corrolato ligand ([Fe(IV)(Cor)(3-)](+)) or an intermediate-spin (IS) ferric ion that is antiferromagnetically coupled to a dianionic pi-radical corrole ([Fe(III)(Cor)(.2-)](+)) yielding an overall triplet ground state. Two series of corrole-based iron complexes ([Fe(L)(Cor)], in which L=F, Cl, Br, I, and Cor=TPFC, TDCC) have been investigated by a combined experimental (Mössbauer spectroscopy) and computational (DFT) approach in order to differentiate between the two possible electronic-structure descriptions. The experimentally calibrated conclusions were reached by a detailed analysis of the Kohn-Sham solutions, which successfully reproduce the experimental structures and spectroscopic parameters: the electronic structures of [Fe(L)(Cor)] (L=F, Cl, Br, I, Cor=TPFC, TDCC) are best formulated as ([IS-Fe(III)(Cor)(.2-)](+)), similar to chloroiron corrole complexes containing electron-rich corrole ligands. The antiferromagnetic pathway is composed of singly occupied Fe d(z(2) ) and corrole a(2u)-like pi orbitals, with coupling constants that exceed those of analogous porphyrin systems by a factor of 2-3. In the corroles, the combination of lower symmetry, extra negative charge, and smaller cavity size (relative to the porphyrins) leads to exceptionally strong iron-corrole sigma bonds. Hence, the Fe d(x(2)-y(2) )-based molecular orbital is unavailable in the corrole complexes (contrary to the porphyrin case), and the local spin states are S(Fe)=3/2 in the corroles versus S(Fe)=5/2 in the porphyrins. The consequences of this qualitative difference are discussed for spin distributions and magnetic properties.

The Mechanism of Homogeneous CO2 Reduction by Ni(cyclam): Product Selectivity, Concerted Proton–Electron Transfer and C–O Bond Cleavage

Homogeneous CO2 reduction catalyzed by [Ni(I)(cyclam)](+) (cyclam = 1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane) exhibits high efficiency and selectivity yielding CO only at a relatively low overpotential. In this work, a density functional theory study of the reaction mechanism is presented. Earlier experiments have revealed that the same reaction occurring on mercury surfaces generates a mixture of CO and formate. According to the proposed mechanism, an η(1)-CO2 adduct is the precursor for CO evolution, whereas formate is obtained from an η(1)-OCO adduct. Our calculations show that generation of the η(1)-CO2 adduct is energetically favored by ∼14.0 kcal/mol relative to that of the η(1)-OCO complex, thus rationalizing the product selectivity observed experimentally. Binding of η(1)-CO2 to Ni(I) only leads to partial electron transfer from the metal center to CO2. Hence, further CO2 functionalization likely proceeds via an outer-sphere electron-transfer mechanism, for which concerted proton coupled electron transfer (PCET) is calculated to be the most feasible route. Final C-O bond cleavage involves rather low barriers in the presence of H3O(+) and H2CO3 and is therefore essentially concerted with the preceding PCET. As a result, the entire reaction mechanism can be described as concerted proton-electron transfer and C-O bond cleavage. On the basis of the theoretical results, the limitations of the catalytic activity of Ni(cyclam) are discussed, which sheds light on future design of more efficient catalysts.

Electronic Structure Analysis of the Oxygen‐Activation Mechanism by FeII‐ and α‐Ketoglutarate (αKG)‐Dependent Dioxygenases

α-Ketoglutarate (αKG)-dependent nonheme iron enzymes utilize a high-spin (HS) ferrous center to couple the activation of oxygen to the decarboxylation of the cosubstrate αKG to yield succinate and CO(2), and to generate a high-valent ferryl species that then acts as an oxidant to functionalize the target C-H bond. Herein a detailed analysis of the electronic-structure changes that occur in the oxygen activation by this enzyme was performed. The rate-limiting step, which is identical on the septet and quintet surfaces, is the nucleophilic attack of the distal O atom of the O(2) adduct on the carbonyl group in αKG through a bicyclic transition state ((5, 7) TS1). Due to the different electronic structures in (5, 7) TS1, the decay of (7)TS1 leads to a ferric oxyl species, which undergoes a rapid intersystem crossing to form the ferryl intermediate. By contrast, a HS ferrous center ligated by a peroxosuccinate is obtained on the quintet surface following (5)TS1. Thus, additional two single-electron transfer steps are required to afford the same Fe(IV)-oxo species. However, the triplet reaction channel is catalytically irrelevant. The biological role of αKG played in the oxygen-activation reaction is dual. The αKG LUMO (C=O π*) serves as an electron acceptor for the nucleophilic attack of the superoxide monoanion. On the other hand, the αKG HOMO (C1-C2 σ) provides the second and third electrons for the further reduction of the superoxide. In addition to density functional theory, high-level ab initio calculations have been used to calculate the accurate energies of the critical points on the alternative potential-energy surfaces. Overall, the results delivered by the ab initio calculations are largely parallel to those obtained with the B3LYP density functional, thus lending credence to our conclusions.

Reversible C–C Bond Formation between Redox-Active Pyridine Ligands in Iron Complexes

This manuscript describes the formally iron(I) complexes L(Me)Fe(Py-R)(2) (L(Me) = bulky β-diketiminate; R = H, 4-tBu), in which the basal pyridine ligands preferentially accept significant unpaired spin density. Structural, spectroscopic, and computational studies on the complex with 4-tert-butylpyridine ((tBu)py) indicate that the S = 3/2 species is a resonance hybrid between descriptions as (a) high-spin iron(II) with antiferromagnetic coupling to a pyridine anion radical and (b) high-spin iron(I). When the pyridine lacks the protection of the tert-butyl group, it rapidly and reversibly undergoes radical coupling reactions that form new C-C bonds. In one reaction, the coordinated pyridine couples to triphenylmethyl radical, and in another, it dimerizes to give a pyridine-derived dianion that bridges two iron(II) ions. The rapid, reversible C-C bond formation in the dimer stores electrons from the formally reduced metal as a C-C bond in the ligands, as demonstrated by using the coupled diiron(II) complex to generate products that are known to come from iron(I) precursors.

How Do Heavier Halide Ligands Affect the Signs and Magnitudes of the Zero-Field Splittings in Halogenonickel(II) Scorpionate Complexes? A Theoretical Investigation Coupled to Ligand-Field Analysis

This work presents a detailed analysis of the physical origin of the zero-field splittings (ZFSs) in a series of high-spin (S = 1) nickel(II) scorpionate complexes Tp*NiX (Tp* = hydrotris(3,5-dimethylpyrazole)borate, X = Cl, Br, I) using quantum chemical approaches. High-frequency and -field electron paramagnetic resonance studies have shown that the complexes with heavier halide ligands (Br, I) have greater magnitudes but opposite signs of the ZFSs compared with the chloro congener (Desrochers, P. J.; Telser, J.; Zvyagin, S. A.; Ozarowski, A.; Krzystek, J.; Vicic, D. A. Inorg. Chem.2006, 45, 8930-8941). To rationalize the experimental findings, quantum chemical calculations of the ZFSs in this Ni(II) halide series have been conducted. The computed ZFS using wave-function-based ab initio methods (state-averaged CASSCF, NEVPT2, and SORCI) are in good agreement with the experiment. For comparison, density functional theory was only marginally successful. The ligand-field analysis demonstrates that the signs and magnitudes of the ZFSs are subtly determined by the trade-off between the negative contributions from the (1,3)A1(1e→2e) transitions relative to the positive contributions from the remaining d-d excited states. The term from (1,3)A1(1e→2e) stems from the structural feature that the metal center displaces out of the equatorial plane, and gains the importance when heavier halide ligand is involved.

Cryoreduction of the NO-Adduct of Taurine:α-Ketoglutarate Dioxygenase (TauD) Yields an Elusive {FeNO}8 Species

The Fe(II)- and alpha-ketoglutarate (alphaKG)-dependent enzymes are a functionally and mechanistically diverse group of mononuclear nonheme-iron enzymes that activate dioxygen to couple the decarboxylation of alphaKG, which yields succinate and CO(2), to the oxidation of an aliphatic C-H bond of their substrates. Their mechanisms have been studied in detail by a combination of kinetic, spectroscopic, and computational methods. Two reaction intermediates have been trapped and characterized for several members of this enzyme family. The first intermediate is the C-H-cleaving Fe(IV)-oxo complex, which exhibits a large deuterium kinetic isotope effect on its decay. The second intermediate is a Fe(II):product complex. Reaction intermediates proposed to occur before the Fe(IV)-oxo intermediate do not accumulate and therefore cannot be characterized experimentally. One of these intermediates is the initial O(2) adduct, which is a {FeO(2)}(8) species in the notation introduced by Enemark and Feltham. Here, we report spectroscopic and computational studies on the stable NO-adduct of taurine:alphaKG dioxygenase (TauD), termed TauD-{FeNO}(7), and its one-electron reduced form, TauD-{FeNO}(8). The latter is isoelectronic with the proposed O(2) adduct and was generated by low-temperature gamma-irradiation of TauD-{FeNO}(7). To our knowledge, TauD-{FeNO}(8) is the first paramagnetic {FeNO}(8) complex. The detailed analysis of experimental and computational results shows that TauD-{FeNO}(8) has a triplet ground state. This has mechanistic implications that are discussed in this Article. Annealing of the triplet {FeNO}(8) species presumably leads to an equally elusive {FeHNO}(8) complex with a quintet ground state.

Bio-inspired mechanistic insights into CO2 reduction

The global energy and environmental concerns related to the excess CO2 concentration in the atmosphere have intensified the research and development regarding CO2 utilization. Due to the high stability and inertness of CO2, CO2 functionalization under mild conditions has been proven to be extremely challenging. Nature has, however, evolved efficient pathways to achieve this difficult transformation. Herein, we compare the mechanisms of CO2 two-electron reduction followed by synthetic catalysts and those by carbon monoxide dehydrogenase and formate dehydrogenase in order to provide more mechanistic insights into future catalyst design.