The bacteria responsible for the degradation of naphthalene, phenanthrene, pyrene, fluoranthene, or benz[a]anthracene in a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)-contaminated soil were investigated by DNA-based stable-isotope probing (SIP). Clone libraries of 16S rRNA genes were generated from the 13C-enriched (“heavy”) DNA recovered from each SIP experiment, and quantitative PCR primers targeting the 16S rRNA gene were developed to measure the abundances of many of the SIP-identified sequences. Clone libraries from the SIP experiments with naphthalene, phenanthrene, and fluoranthene primarily contained sequences related to bacteria previously associated with the degradation of those compounds. However, Pigmentiphaga-related sequences were newly associated with naphthalene and phenanthrene degradation, and sequences from a group of uncultivated γ-Proteobacteria known as Pyrene Group 2 were newly associated with fluoranthene and benz[a]anthracene degradation. Pyrene Group 2-related sequences were the only sequences recovered from the clone library generated from SIP with pyrene, and they were 82% of the sequences recovered from the clone library generated from SIP with benz[a]anthracene. In time-course experiments with each substrate in unlabeled form, the abundance of each of the measured groups increased in response to the corresponding substrate. These results provide a comprehensive description of the microbial ecology of a PAH-contaminated soil as it relates to the biodegradation of PAHs from two to four rings, and they underscore that bacteria in Pyrene Group 2 are well-suited for the degradation of four-ring PAHs.

The mechanism of water oxidation performed by a recently discovered cobalt complex [Co(Py5)(OH2)](ClO4)2 (1; Py5=2,6-(bis(bis-2-pyridyl)-methoxymethane)pyridine) was examined using quantum chemical models based on density functional theory. The computer models were first benchmarked against the experimental cyclic voltammetry data to identify the catalytically competent resting state of the catalyst, which was thought to contain a Co(IV) -oxyl complex. The electronic structure calculations suggest that the low-spin doublet state is energetically most favorable, but the catalytically most active species is the intermediate-spin quartet complex that is almost isoenergetic with the doublet state. The electronic structure of the quartet state shows significant spin polarization on the terminal oxygen atom, which is consistent with an intramolecular electron transfer from the oxygen to the metal. Based on the calculated spin densities, the formally [Co(IV) a bond and a half O] can be viewed as a biradicaloid [Co(II)-(⋅O⋅)](2+), that is, a cobalt-oxene moiety. This electronic structure is reminiscent of many other systems where similar electronic patterns were proposed to be responsible for the oxidative reactivity. In this context, this first-row transition-metal system constitutes a logical extension, because the oxyl-radical character is maximized by using the more easily accessible high-spin configurations in which two half-filled Co-dπ orbitals can work in concert to maximize the oxyl-radical character to ultimately afford a new reactive intermediate that can be characterized as carrying a biradicaloid oxene moiety with a formal oxidation state of zero. This conceptual proposal for the catalytically active species provides a plausible rationale for the remarkable oxidative reactivity.

The mechanism of water oxidation performed by a recently discovered manganese pyridinophane catalyst [Mn(PyNBu)(HO)] is studied using density functional theory methods. A complete catalytic cycle is constructed and the catalytically active species is identified to consist of a Mn-bis(oxo) moiety that is generated from the resting state by a series of proton-coupled electron transfer reactions. Whereas the electronic ground state of this key intermediate is found to be a triplet, the most favorable pathway for O-O bond formation is found on the quintet potential energy surface and involves an intramolecular coupling of two oxyl radicals with opposite spins bound to the Mn-center that adopts an electronic structure most consistent formally with a high-spin Mn ion. Therefore, the thermally accessible high-spin quintet state that constitutes a typical and innate property of a first-row transition metal center plays a critical role for catalysis. It enables facile electron transfer between the oxo moieties and the Mn-center and promotes O-O bond formation via a radical coupling reaction with a calculated reaction barrier of only 14.7 kcal mol. This mechanism of O-O coupling is unprecedented and provides a novel possible pathway to coupling two oxygen atoms bound to a single metal site.

A series of heteroleptic Ir(iii) complexes were prepared, and their emission behaviors depending on the ancillary ligands were systematically investigated.