A series
of manganese complexes were synthesized with a variety
of ligands and ligand substituents. These complexes were then studied
using ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry,
density functional theory calculations, and bulk electrolysis. The
UV–vis, cyclic voltammetry, and calculation data show that
the bipyridine π* level is modulated by the incorporation of
different substituents on the bipyridine and through this interaction
moderates the observed catalytic activity of the complex toward CO2 reduction. The calculations were correlated to the experimental
UV–vis data and cyclic voltammetry data to demonstrate the
relationship among these data, and a Hammett plot showed a good correlation
between the substituent identity and the MLCT wavelength from UV–vis
(R
2 = 0.96). When aliphatic substituents
were placed on the 4,4′-positions of the bipyridine, the location
of the bpy π* was not significantly altered. However, when more
electron withdrawing substituents were placed on the 4,4′-positions
the bpy π* level was altered more significantly. This alteration
in the bpy π* level had a profound effect on the rate of CO
production determined from bulk electrolysis. While complexes whose
bpy π* level were similar or more blue shifted in comparison
to the parent manganese complex did not display significantly altered
efficiencies or rates for the conversion of CO2 to CO,
those species whose bpy π* energies were significantly red shifted
in comparison to the parent manganese complex displayed far poorer
catalysis. This is postulated to be a combination of two factors.
First, the singly reduced complex’s ability to lose the axial
bromide ligand is diminished when electron-withdrawing groups are
placed on the bpy ligand due to an increasing gap between the bpy
π* and the Mn–Br σ*. Second, the decreased electron
density of the HOMO of the doubly reduced complex with electron-withdrawing
groups makes the binding of a molecule of CO2 less energetically
favorable.
Noncovalent interactions determine the three-dimensional structure of macromolecules and the binding interactions between molecules. Students struggle to understand noncovalent interactions and how they relate to structure–function relationships. Additionally, students’ difficulties translating from two-dimensional representations to three-dimensional representations add another layer of complexity found in macromolecules. Therefore, we developed instructional resources that use 3D physical models to target student understanding of noncovalent interactions of small molecules and macromolecules. To this effect, we monitored indicators of knowledge integration as evidenced in student-generated drawings. Analysis of the drawings revealed that students were able to incorporate relevant conceptual features into their drawings from different sources as well as present their understanding from different perspectives.
[Mn(bpy)(CO)4] is isolated, characterized, and demonstrated to be an on-cycle catalytic intermediate in the [MnX(bpy)(CO)3]-catalyzed electroreduction of CO2 to CO.
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