Characterization of the Electronic and Molecular Structures of Transition Metal Semiquinone and Catecholate Complexes
Quinones interact with transition metal ions in biological electron transfer processes such as photosynthesis and the respiratory electron transport chain. Two types of quinones exist, paraquinones and orthoquinones, however, only transition metal-orthoquinone complexes were studied. Orthoquinones are only known to bond to metals in a (sigma)-fashion through the oxygens. As a family of ligands, orthoquinones utilize three redox active forms when bonding to metals: {M(O)(quinone)}, {M(I) (semiquinone)}, and {M(II)(catecholate)}. The difference between these three formulations is related to the residence of electrons in either metal or ligand orbitals.
University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
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