This theoretical study establishes ways of controlling and enabling an uncommon chemical reaction, the displacement reaction, B:---(XY) → (BX) + + :Y − , which is nascent from a B:---(XY) halogen bond (XB) by nucleophilic attack of the base, B:, on the halogen, X. In most of the 14 cases examined, these reactions possess high barriers either in the gas phase (where the XY bond dissociates to radicals) or in solvents such as CH 2 Cl 2 and CH 3 CN (which lead to endothermic processes). Thus, generally, the XB species are trapped in deep minima, and their reactions are not allowed without catalysis. However, when an oriented-external electric field (OEEF) is directed along the B---X---Y reaction axis, the field acts as electric tweezers that orient the XB along the f ield's axis, and intensely catalyze the process, by tens of kcal/mol, thus rendering the reaction allowed. Flipping the OEEF along the reaction axis inhibits the reaction and weakens the interaction of the XB. Furthermore, at a critical OEEF, each XB undergoes spontaneous and barrier-free reaction. As such, OEEF achieves quite tight control of the structure and reactivity of XB species. Valence bond modeling is used to elucidate the means whereby OEEFs exert their control.

AurF and CmlI are currently the only two known diiron arylamine oxygenases. On the basis of extensive quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical (QM/MM) spectroscopic and mechanistic modelings, here we predict that the key oxygenated intermediates in AurF and CmlI, so-called P, are uniformly hydroperoxo species having similar structures. As a basis for mechanistic unification in AurF and CmlI, the proposed diferric-hydroperoxo P is calculated to be able to promote the arylamine N-oxygenation with highly accessible kinetics. This convergent μ-η:η structural assignment of P's in AurF and CmlI can rationalize many conundrums for P, including the different Mössbauer spectroscopic parameters, low O-O vibrational frequency, ambiphilic reactivity, and inertness toward C-H activation. In view of the very limited knowledge about hydroperoxo species in diiron enzymes, the novel diferric-hydroperoxo-mediated N-oxygenation mechanism revealed in this work opens up a new avenue for understanding the O activation mode in nature. For elucidating the structures of transient oxidants for diiron enzymes, the promising approach of QM/MM Mössbauer spectroscopic modeling is highlighted as a key problem solver in mechanistic enzymatic research.