Proton-coupled electron transfer

A Proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) is a chemical reaction that involves the transfer of electrons and protons from one atom to another. The term was originally coined for single proton, single electron processes that are concerted,^[1] but the definition has relaxed to include many related processes. Reactions that involve the concerted shift of a single electron and a single proton are often called Concerted Proton-Electron Transfer or CPET.^[2][3][4][5]

In PCET, the proton and the electron (i) start from different orbitals and (ii) are transferred to different atomic orbitals. They transfer in a concerted elementary step. CPET contrast to step-wise mechanisms in which the electron and proton are transferred sequentially.^[6]

ET

[HX] + [M] → [HX]⁺ + [M]⁻

PT

[HX] + [M] → [X]⁻ + [HM]⁺

CPET

[HX] + [M] → [X] + [HM]

ExamplesEdit

PCET is thought to be pervasive. Important examples include water oxidation in photosynthesis, nitrogen fixation, oxygen reduction reaction, and the function of hydrogenases. These processes are relevant to respiration.

Simple modelsEdit

Reactions of relatively simple coordination complexs have been examined as tests of PCET.

• The comproportionation of a Ru(II) aquo and a Ru(IV) oxo (bipy = (2,2'-bipyridine, py = pyridine):

[(bipy)₂(py)Ru^IV(O)]²⁺ + [(bipy)₂(py)Ru^II(OH₂)]²⁺ → 2 [(bipy)₂(py)Ru^III(OH)]²⁺

• Electrochemical reactions where reduction is coupled to protonation or where oxidation is coupled to deprotonation.^[7]

The square schemeEdit

"Square scheme" used to discuss PCET (diagonal) vs discrete electron transfer and proton transfers.

Although it is relatively simple to demonstrate that the electron and proton begin and end in different orbitals, it is more difficult to prove that they do not move sequentially. The main evidence that PCET exists is that a number of reactions occur faster than expected for the sequential pathways. In the initial electron transfer (ET) mechanism, the initial redox event has a minimum thermodynamics barrier associate with the first step. Similarly, the initial proton transfer (PT) mechanism has a minimum barrier associated with the protons initial pK_a. Variations on these minimum barriers are also considered. The important finding is that there are a number of reactions with rates greater than these minimum barriers would permit. This suggests a third mechanism lower in energy; the concerted PCET has been offered as this third mechanism. This assertion has also been supported by the observation of unusually large kinetic isotope effects (KIE).

A typical method for establishing PCET pathway is to show that the individual ET and PT pathways operate at higher activation energy than the concerted pathway.^[2]

Related processesEdit

Hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) is distinct from PCET. In HAT, the proton and electron start in the same orbitals and move together to the final orbital. HAT is recognized as a radical pathway, although the stoichiometry is similar to that for PCET. 

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article  Metasyntactic variable, which is released under the  Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.