Marcel Swart/Faiza Ahsan (UdG) — Reactivity of the first characterized high-valent metal-oxo species

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🧪Why does one molecule react 1000 times faster than a similar one?🧪

Many chemical reactions are driven by metal-based molecules that transfer oxygen or hydrogen atoms. But studying them is a fundamental challenge: the more reactive they are, the harder they are to capture and characterise. 

The team led by Marcel S. and Faiza Ahsan (Universitat de Girona) tackled this 20-year-old open question in chemistry by using #Pirineus from Consorci de Serveis Universitaris de Catalunya (CSUC)

🔎𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝?🔎 

🔹 Two versions of the same iron-oxygen molecule react very differently, with one being 1000 times faster in oxygen transfer reactions.
🔹 That factor happens because, in the faster molecule, the solvent detaches during the reaction and lowers the energy barrier, while in the lower one weak interactions between the solvent and the methyls prevent that reaction

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