A Theoretical Study of Tris-(o-benzoquinonediimine)-First-Row Divalent Transition Metal Complexes

The ligand o-phenylenediamine (opda) and its oxidized form, o-benzoquinonediimine (bqdi), act as a fascinating candidate coordinating toward transition metal ions leading to the photochemical hydrogen production in absence of photosensitizers. Herein, we report the systematic study of the interaction between the oxidized form bqdi ligand, tris-(o-benzoquinonediimine) with divalent first-row transition metal series using DFT calculations. The lowest energy structures, bond length, binding energies, frontier molecular orbital analysis, natural bond orbitals, and global reactivity descriptor were calculated using B3LYP/6-311G(d,P) level of theory. The time dependent-DFT at the CAM-B3LYP/6-311+G(d,p) level of theory was applied to determine the electronic structures and the optical spectra. The theoretical binding trend of the divalent first-row transition metal series is decreasing as follows: Cu >Ti > V > Co > Ni > Fe > Cr > Zn >Mn. Among them, the binding potency of iron (II) by the bqdi ligand was not predominantly sturdy as compared to other first-row divalent transition metal ions. The origin of strong coordination with Fe(II) is attributed to its extra capability to induce covalent coordination of bqdi ligands. The complex exhibited two strong peaks at 370 nm and 452 nm, due to the HOMO-3 to LUMO+1 and HOMO-1 to LUMO transitions, respectively. Natural bond orbital analysis showed that the major interaction happens between the N lone pair electrons of the ligand with an anti-bonding orbital of metal ions, in which Ti showed the highest interaction energy than other metal ions. The present systemic DFT study of bqdi ligands with the first-row transition metals strongly encourages the future establishment of photochemical hydrogen production in absence of photosensitizers.

A Computational Study of Microhydrated N-Acetyl-Phenylalaninylamide (NAPA): Kinetics and Thermodynamics

The formations of [NAPA-A(H2O)n (n = 1, 2, 3, 4)] complexes have been studied employing DFT/wB97XD/cc-pVTZ computational level to understand the kinetics and thermodynamics for the hydration reactions of N-acetyl-phenylalaninylamide (NAPA). Thermodynamic parameters such as reaction energy (E), enthalpy (H), Gibb’s free energy (G), specific heat capacity (Cv), entropy (S), and change of these parameters (ΔEr, ΔHr, ΔGr, ΔCr, and ΔSr) were studied using the explicit solvent model. The predicted values of H, G, C, and S increase with the sequential addition of water in NAPA-A due to the increase in the total number of vibrational modes. On the other hand, the value of ΔEr, ΔHr, and ΔGr increases (more negative to less negative) gradually for n = 1, 2, 3, and 4 that indicates an increase of hydration in NAPA-A makes exothermic to endothermic reactions. The barrier heights for the transition states (TS) of [NAPA-A(H2O)n (n = 1, 2, 3, 4)] complexes are predicted to lie at 4.41, 4.05, 3.72 and 2.26 kcal/mol respectively below the reactants. According to the calculations, the formations of [NAPA-A(H2O)1] and [NAPA-A(H2O)2] complexes are barrierless reactions because both water molecules are strongly bonded via two hydrogen bonds in the backbone of NAPA-A. On the contrary, the reactions of [NAPA-A(H2O)3] and [NAPA-A(H2O)4] complexation are endothermic and the barrier heights are predicted to stay at 6.30 and 10.54 kcal/mol respectively above the reactants. The free energy of activation (Δ‡G0) for the reaction of [NAPA-A(H2O)1], [NAPA-A(H2O)2], [NAPA-A(H2O)3], and [NAPA-A(H2O)4] complexation are 4.43, 4.28, 3.83 and 5.11 kcal/mol respectively which are very low. As well as the rates of reactions are 3.490 × 109 s-1, 4.514 × 109 s-1, 9.688 × 109 s-1, and 1.108 × 109 s-1 respectively which are very fast and spontaneous.

Study of <i>in Vitro</i>Interaction of Sildenafil Citrate with Bovine Serum Albumin by Fluorescence Spectroscopy

In vitro interaction of sildenafil citrate (SC) with bovine serum albumin (BSA) was investigated at two excitation wavelengths of BSA (280 nm and 293 nm) at two different temperatures (298 K and 308 K) by fluorescence emission spectroscopy. The study showed that quenching of BSA fluores-cence by sildenafil citrate was the result of formation BSA-SC complex with probable involvement of both tryptophan and tyrosine residues of BSA. Fluorescence quenching constant was determined from Stern-Volmer equation, and both static quenching and dynamic quenching were showed for BSA by SC at the conditions. Van’t Hoff equation was used to measure the thermodynamic parameters ΔG, ΔH, and ΔS at the temperatures which indicated that the hydrogen bond and the hydrophobic forces played major roles for BSA-SC complexation. The binding number (n) was found to be ≈1 indicating that one mole BSA bound with one mole SC. The binding affinity of SC to BSA was calculated at different temperatures. The binding constant was decreased with increasing temperatures indicating that stability of BSA-SC complex decreased with increasing temperatures.

Isolation and Characterization of Beneficial Microorganisms in Organic, Semi-Organic and Conventional Fertilizer Treated Agricultural Field Soil and Comparison of Bacterial Richness

The effect of different farming systems on microbial communities in agricultural environment was investigated in the present study. Depending on the present farming trend, the microbial distribution in agricultural soils treated with organic, semi-organic and conventional fertilizers was analyzed. A total of 20 soil samples were collected from different types of agricultural fields of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI, Gazipur). Microorganisms playing beneficial roles in soil such as nitrogen fixation (e.g. Rhizobium sp., Azotobacter sp.), phosphate solubilization (e.g. Bacillus sp., Pseudomonas sp., Phosphobacteria) and auxin production (e.g. Pseudomonas sp., Serratia sp. and Bacillus sp.) were evaluated from each of the samples. The results revealed that agricultural fields treated with chemical fertilizers showed lower microbial count than that of organic fertilizer treated agricultural fields’ soil samples. In addition, organic fertilizers amended field soils have higher phytohormone (Auxin) activities, phosphate solubilization bacteria and other bacterial richness compared to chemical fertilizer applied field soil.

The Effects of Oxidation States and Spin States of Chromium Interaction with <i>Sargassum Sp</i>.: A Spectroscopic and Density Functional Theoretical Study

The study of various oxidation states of chromium with Sargassum sp. is of particular interest since hexavalent chromium is reduced to trivalent chromium in an aqueous solution. In this study, a systematic density functional theory (DFT) calculations were performed to study the interactions of transition metal chromium ion with different oxidation states and spin states with the Sargassum sp. decorated with carboxylate (acetate) at the wB97XD/6-311++ G(d,p) level of theory. The structures and binding energies of chromium metal-carboxylate complexes at various oxidation states and spin states in gas phase were examined. The coordination strength of Cr(VI) with the acetate ligand was predominantly the strongest compared to the other oxidation states. Vibrational frequency analysis, for the homoleptic monomers of tris [CrIII(AC)3]0 and [CrVI(AC)3]3+ complexes, illustrate good harmony with the experimental and theoretical calculated frequencies. Using the time-dependent DFT (TD-DFT) at the level of CAM-B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p), the vertical excitation energies were obtained. The stabilization energies derived using the second order perturbation theory, Eij(2), of NBO analysis confirmed the greater charge transfer for the observed trends in the metal binding. The calculated binding energies (ΔE) and interactions energies SEij(2) favor the formation of [CrVI(AC)3]3+ complexes. The findings of this study identify efficient electronic factors as major contributors to the metal binding affinities, with promising possibilities for the design of metal-ligand complexes and sensing of the metal ions.

Investigation of Structural and Electronic Properties of [Tris(Benzene-1,2-Dithiolato)M]^3-(M = V, Cr, Mn, Fe and Co) Complexes: A Spectroscopic and Density Functional Theoretical Study

In this study, the first raw transition metals from V to Co complexes with benzene-1,2-dithiolate (L2-) ligand have been studied theoretically to elucidate the geometry, electronic structure and spectroscopic properties of the complexes. Density Functional Theory (DFT) and Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory (TD-DFT) methods have been used. The ground state geometries, binding energies, spectral properties (UV-vis), frontier molecular orbitals (FMOs) analysis, charge analysis and natural bond orbital (NBO) have been investigated. The geometrical parameters are in good agreement with the available experimental data. The metal-ligand binding energies are 1 order of magnitude larger than the physisorption energy of a benzene-1, 2-dthiolate molecule on a metallic surface. The electronic structures of the first raw transition metal series from V to Co have been elucidated by UV-vis spectroscopic using DFT calculations. In accordance with experiment the calculated electronic spectra of these tris complexes show bands at 522, 565, 559, 546 and 863 nm for V3+, Cr3+, Mn3+, Fe3+ and Co3+ respectively which are mainly attributed to ligand to metal charge transfer (LMCT) transitions. The electronic properties analysis shows that the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) is mainly centered on metal coordinated sulfur atoms whereas the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) is mainly located on the metal surface. From calculation of intramolecular interactions and electron delocalization by natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis, the stability of the complexes was estimated. The NBO results showed significant charge transfer from sulfur to central metal ions in the complexes, as well as to the benzene. The calculated charges on metal ions are also reported at various charge schemes. The calculations show encouraging agreement with the available experimental data.

Environmentally Friendly Room Temperature Synthesis of 1-Tetralone over Layered Double Hydroxide-Hosted Sulphonato-Salen-Nickel(II) Complex

1-Tetralone, a useful synthetic intermediate in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and dyes, can be prepared by liquid phase catalytic oxidation of tetralin. Selective oxidation of tetralin to 1-tetralone is still a big challenge with low-temperature processes using environmentally friendly routes even after decades of research. Herein, we demonstrate room-temperature oxidation of tetralin to 1-tetralone over layered double hydroxide-hosted sulphonato-salen-nickel(II) complex, LDH-[Ni-salen]. The layered double hydroxide-hosted sulphonato-salen-nickel(II) compound was characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR), UV-Visible diffuse reflectance spectra, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and elemental analysis. The theoretical calculations of free sulphonato-salen-nickel(II) complex using Density Functional Theory/CAM-B3LYP at the 6-311++ G(d,p) level of theory were also used to determine the orientation of the Ni-salen compound within the layered structure. The immobilized compound, LDH-[Ni-salen] was found to be an effective reusable catalyst for the oxidation of tetralin to 1-tetralone using a combination of trimethylacetaldehyde and molecular oxygen (14.5 psi) and at 25&deg;C. At 45.5% conversion, tetralin was converted to 1-tetralone with 77.2% selectivity at room temperature and atmospheric pressure after 24 h. The catalyst recycles test and hot filtration experiment showed that oxidation proceeded through Ni(II) sites in LDH-[Ni-salen]. The catalysts were reused several times without losing their catalytic activity and selectivity. The present results may provide a convenient strategy for the preparation of 1-tetralone using layered double hydroxide-based heterogeneous catalyst at ambient temperature for industrial application in near future.

Hydroxylation of Phenol Catalyzed by Iron Metal-Organic Framework (Fe-BTC) with Hydrogen Peroxide

Liquid phase catalytic hydroxylation of phenol by Fe-containing metal-organic framework, Fe-BTC (BTC = 1,3,5-benzenetricarboxylate) using 30% H2O2 as an oxidant and H2O as solvent showed good activity and stability under mild reaction conditions. Phenol reacts with hydrogen peroxide over Fe-BTC to produce two main products, viz., catechol and hydroquinone. The effect of temperature, time, substrate/hydrogen peroxide mole ratio and amount of catalyst on catalytic performance were studied. The catalyst could be reused four times without losing significant loss of catalytic performance. The crystallinity and structure of catalyst were unchanged during the catalysis reaction, as confirmed by comparison of XRD and SEM of the fresh and reused catalyst. A reaction mechanism is proposed based on the experimental results.