Co-Photolysis-Induced H-Atom Transfer From (Mno)-O-I-H Bonds

The formation of TEMPOH from a mixture of [Mn(CO)(3)(mu(3)-OH)](4) (1) and (2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidin-1-yl)oxyl (TEMPO) is shown to occur through a light-initiated CO photolysis from 1 (illumination at 300-375 nm). One hypothesis is that the loss of carbon monoxide (CO) causes significant O-H bond weakening to render proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) to TEMPO favorable. For instance, the ground-state O-H bond dissociation free energy (BDFEO-H) of 1 (computed with density functional theory and estimated using effective BDFE reagents) is too high to transfer an H-atom to TEMPO. We also demonstrate that TEMPO and 1 interact in the dark through a hydrogen-bonded "precomplex" (1 center dot center dot center dot TEMPO). We suggest that the PCET reaction that forms TEMPOH is the result of a H-atom-transfer reaction that occurs immediately after photolysis of a CO ligand(s).