A SET Approach to the Interplay of Catalysts and Reactants

Abstract

Research within the area of selective energy transfer (SET) on how resonance develops between a specific vibration within a catalyst system and a corresponding vibration within a reacting system that resonates with it is discussed here. The catalyst system is assumed to donate one or more vibrational quanta to the reacting system. The term 'specific vibration' refers to vibration of a type involving bending or stretching that, when transferred resonantly to the reacting system, serves to drive the reactant molecules involved to assume the basic structure of the molecules of the catalyst system. Regardless of whether the catalyst is a pure metal surface or a complex polymolecular system (an enzyme), its role is seen to be that of transferring energy to corresponding vibrations of the reactant system. Examples are here presented of vibrators of various types that can act as catalysts.

The Transformation by Catalysis of Prebiotic Chemical Systems to Useful Biochemicals: A Perspective Based on IR Spectroscopy of the Primary Chemicals: I. The Synthesis of Peptides by the Condensation of Amino Acids

“…It follows from SET that the vibration found in this supposed molecular reaction is the one that actually activates the reaction [13][14][15]. If activation energies had been measured, we would have seen (Equation ( 1)) that they all had been a sum of the energy of a vibration with a frequency of 1058-1038 cm −1 .…”

The Transformation by Catalysis of Prebiotic Chemical Systems to Useful Biochemicals: A Perspective Based on IR Spectroscopy of the Primary Chemicals: I. The Synthesis of Peptides by the Condensation of Amino Acids

“…Or rather (vide Scheme 1), this H atom is free to attack the OH-group of the neighboring amino acid, forming water and making possible a combination of the two amino acids to form a peptide bond. It follows from SET that the vibration found in this supposed molecular reaction is the one that actually activates the reaction [13][14][15]. If activation energies had been measured, we would have seen (Equation (1)) that they all had been a sum of the energy of a vibration with a frequency of 1058-1038 cm −1 .…”

“…The basis of this concept [14,15] is the selective transfer of energy from a molecular vibrator in the catalyst system towards a vibrating system in the molecule that is involved in the reaction. Because of this view, the new model has been named "SET" or the selective energy transfer model.…”

A SET route to Ethyl Carboxylic Acid from Ethanol and Carbon Monoxide

“…of amino acids to form proteins (2) and the formation of many constituents of RNA [3]. As is otherwhere described in detail [4,5], the action of the catalyst is supposed to take place via vibrational resonance between reactant and catalyst. In this way, energy is transferred from an interatomic vibration of the catalyst to a vibration within the reactant with the same or similar frequency.…”