Oxygen atom transfer reactions from Mo(VI) centers

INOR 106

Partha Basu, basu@duq.edu, Dept of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Duquesne University, 600 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15282
The transfer of an oxygen atom between the donor and acceptor center is ubiquitous in chemical processes, and involves the breaking of an oxygen-donor bond and the making of an oxygen-acceptor bond. Such reactions proceed through the reduction of the donor center and the oxidation of the acceptor molecule. The thermochemistry of these reactions is related to the intrinsic energies of the bonds that are broken and formed. Traditionally such reactions were considered to pass through one transition state. Recently it has become apparent that many oxygen atom transfer reactions proceed via multiple steps involving the formation of an intermediate and its decomposition to product, thus the overall reaction proceeds through at minimum two transition states. This presentation will discuss the details of kinetics, thermochemistry of the reaction in a two step model.