Inorganic Redox Mechanisms in Solution

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Dr. Edwin S. Gould, Chemistry Department, Kent State University, is supported in the Inorganic, Bioinorganic, and Organometallic Chemistry Program, for investigations of solution phase oxidation-reduction reactions which emphasize less common oxidation states. Three areas will be studied: 1) compromised redox behavior of 2-electron oxidants in which 2e-reductants react through single electron paths; 2) superoxide-metal interactions, emphasizing metal catalyzed reactions with nonmetal reactants; and 3) polynuclear manganese complexes related to Photosystem II, dealing with hypervalent manganese states which are thought to be involved in the photosynthetic conversion of water to oxygen. Reactions in which electrons are transferred between reactants are of enormous importance in virtually all areas of pure and applied chemistry. One portion of Gould's research addresses how transfer occurs in some cases when two electrons leave a reductant through two separate, but closely related, pathways. In a second part, he studies the electron transfer between superoxide-metal complexes and non-metal reactants. This is related to the detoxification of superoxide, which is an important biochemical process. Third, he is determining the role of manganese ions in photosynthetic reactions, which is related to the way plants generate oxygen during photosynthesis.