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Psychrophilic organisms play a significant role in global nutrient cycling and bioremediation, and thus there is great interest in understanding the details of their cellular processes. Here, we report the first electrochemical measurements of cytochrome c552 isolated from the model psychrophile, Colwellia psychrerythraea. Quasi-reversible redox behavior is observed at thiol-modified and bare gold electrodes with midpoint potentials of 247 and 277 mV vs SHE, respectively. Comparison of the voltammetric response on the two substrates illustrates the need for a modified surface to direct protein orientation and facilitate electron transfer in a reproducible manner. Temperature-dependence measurements of the current profile illustrate the protein’s ability to participate in electron transfer reactions over a 50° range, which is supported by recent structural evidence of enhanced flexibility. These electrochemical findings allow the behavior of this psychrophilic cytochrome to be evaluated in the context of m...

Two series of homoleptic phenolate complexes with fluorinated aryloxide ligands A2[M(OAr)4] with M = Co2+ or Cu 2+, OAr- = (OC6F5)- (OArF) or {3,5-OC6H3(CF3) 2}- (OAr′), A+ = K (18-crown-6) +, Tl+, Ph4P+, Et3HN +, or Me4N+ have been synthesized. Two related complexes with nonfluorinated phenoxide ligands have been synthesized and studied in comparison to the fluorinated aryloxides demonstrating the dramatic structural changes effected by modification of OPh to OArF. The compounds {K(18-crown-6)}2[Cu(OArF)4], 1a; {K(18-crown-6)}2[Cu(OAr′)4], 1b; [Tl 2Cu(OArF)4], 2a; [Tl2Cu(OAr′) 4], 2b; (Ph4P)2[Cu(OArF) 4], 3; (nBu4N)2[Cu(OAr F)4], 4; (HEt3N)2[Cu(OAr F)4], 5; {K(18-crown-6)}2[Cu 2(μ2-OC6H5)2(OC 6H5)4], 6; {K(18-crown-6)} 2[Co(OArF)4], 7a; {K(18-crown-6)} 2[Co(OAr′)4], 7b; [Tl2Co(OAr F)4], 8a; [Tl2Co(OAr′)4], 8b; (Me4N)2[Co(OArF)4], 9; [Cp 2Co]2[Co(OAr′)4], 10; and {K(18-crown-6)}2[Co2(μ2-OC6H 5)2(OC6H5)4], 11, have been characterized with UV-vis and multinuclear NMR spectroscopy and solution magnetic moment studies. Cyclic voltammetry was used to study 1a, 1b, 7a, and 7b, X-ray crystallography was used to characterize 1b, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7a, 7b; 10, and 11. The related [MX4]2- compound (Ph 4P)2[Co(OArF)2Cl2], 12, has also been synthesized and characterized spectroscopically, as well as with conductivity and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Use of fluorinated aryloxides permits synthesis and isolation of the mononuclear, homoleptic phenolate anions in good yield without oligomerized side products. The reaction conditions that result in homoleptic 1a and 7a with OArF upon changing the ligand to OPh result in μ2-OPh bridging phenoxides and the dimeric complexes 6 and 11. The [M(OArF)4]2- and [M(OAr′)4]2- anions in 1a, 1b, 3, 4, 5, 7a, 7b, 9, and 10 demonstrate that stable, isolable homoleptic phenolate anions do not need to be coordinatively or sterically saturated and can be achieved by increasing the electronegativity of the ligand.

The reactivity of electrogenerated bromine with cyclohexene has been studied on a platinum microelectrode by linear sweep and cyclic voltammetry in both the room temperature ionic liquid, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis[(trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl]imide, and the conventional aprotic solvent, acetonitrile. Variation in the voltammetric response was observed in the two solvents, indicating that the bromination reaction proceeded via separate mechanisms. To identify the different products, electrolysis was conducted on the preparative scale and NMR spectroscopy confirmed that while bromination of the organic substrate in the ionic liquid yields trans-1,2-dibromocyclohexane, in acetonitrile, trans-1-(N-acetylamino)-2-bromocyclohexane is instead obtained as the major product. The reaction mechanism for bromination in acetonitrile has been modeled using digital simulation.

The reduction of oxygen in the presence of carbon dioxide has been investigated by cyclic voltammetry at a gold microdisk electrode in the two room-temperature ionic liquids 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis- (trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([EMIM][N(Tf)2]) and hexyltriethylammonium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide ([N6222] [N(Tf)2]). With increasing levels of CO2, cyclic voltammetry shows an increase in the reductive wave and diminishing of the oxidative wave, indicating that the generated superoxide readily reacts with carbon dioxide, The kinetics of this reaction are investigated in both ionic liquids. The reaction was found to proceed via a DISP1 type mechanism in [EMIM][N(Tf)2], with an overall second-order rate constant of 1.4 ± 0.4 × 103 M-1 s-1. An ECE or DISP1 mechanism was determined to be the most likely pathway for the reaction in [N6222][N(Tf)2], with an overall second-order rate constant of 1.72 ± 0.45 × 103 M-1 s -1.

The electrochemical reduction of oxygen in two different room-temperature ionic liquids, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis((trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl)imide ([EMIM][N(Tf)2]) and hexyltriethylammonium bis-((trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl)imide ([N6222][N(Tf)2]) was investigated by cyclic voltammetry at a gold microdisk electrode. Chronoamperometric measurements were made to determine the diffusion coefficient, D, and concentration, c, of the electroactive oxygen dissolved in the ionic liquid by fitting experimental transients to the Aoki model. [Aoki, K.; et al. J. Electroanal. Chem. 1981, 122, 19]. A theory and simulation designed for cyclic voltammetry at microdisk electrodes was then employed to determine the diffusion coefficient of the electrogenerated superoxide species, O2·-, as well as compute theoretical voltammograms to confirm the values of D and c for neutral oxygen obtained from the transients. As expected, the diffusion coefficient of the superoxide species was found to be smaller than that of the oxygen in both ionic liquids. The diffusion coefficients of O2 and O2·- in [N6222][N(Tf)2], however, differ by more than a factor of 30 (DO2 = 1.48 × 10-10 m2 s-1, DO2·- = 4.66 × 10-12 m2 s-1), whereas they fall within the same order of magnitude in [EMIM]-[N(Tf)2] (DO2 = 7.3 × 10-10 m2 s-1, DO2·- = 2.7 × 10-10 m2 s-1). This difference in [N6222][N(Tf)2] causes pronounced asymmetry in the concentration distributions of oxygen and superoxide, resulting in significant differences in the heights of the forward and back peaks in the cyclic voltammograms for the reduction of oxygen. This observation is most likely a result of the higher viscosity of [N6222][N(Tf)2] in comparison to [EMIM][N(Tf)2], due to the structural differences in cationic component.

The electrochemical windows of acetonitrile solutions doped with 0.1 M concentrations of several ionic liquids were examined by cyclic voltammetry at gold and platinum microelectrodes. These results were compared with those observed in the commonly used 0.1 M tetrabutylammonium perchlorate/acetonitrile system as well as with neat ionic liquids. The use of a trifluorotris(pentafluoroethyl)phosphate-based ionic liquid, specifically, as supporting electrolyte in acetonitrile solutions affords a wider anodic window, which is attributed to the high stability of the anionic component of these intrinsically conductive and thermally robust compounds.

Some twenty-five years after they first came to prominence as alternative electrochemical solvents, room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) are currently being employed across an increasingly wide range of chemical fields. This review examines the current state of ionic liquid-based electrochemistry, with particular focus on the work of the last decade. Being composed entirely of ions and possessing wide electrochemical windows (often in excess of 5 volts), it is not difficult to see why these compounds are seen by electrochemists as attractive potential solvents. Accordingly, an examination of the pertinent properties of ionic liquids is presented, followed by an assessment of their application to date across the various electrochemical disciplines, concluding with an outlook viewing current problems and directions.