Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 16, 2026

The Synthesis, Characterization and Reactivity of a Series of Ruthenium N-triphosPh Complexes
Published on: April 10, 2015
Anomalous reactivity of ceric nitrate in ruthenium "blue dimer"-catalyzed water oxidation
Jamie A Stull1, R David Britt, Jeanne L McHale
1Department of Chemistry, University of California-Davis, Davis, California 95616, United States.
Abstract:
At high concentrations, nitrate ion alters the dynamics of ruthenium "blue dimer"-catalyzed water oxidation by Ce(IV) such that the oxidation rate is enhanced and a unique reaction intermediate accumulates. This intermediate is characterized by distinct EPR, optical, and resonance Raman (RR) spectra, with the appearance in the latter of a new oxygen isotope-sensitive band. Both Ce(IV) and nitrate are required to generate this intermediate, which suggests ceric-nitrate complexes as the causative agents. Use of (18)O-labeled and (15)N-labeled materials has established that (1) the new RR band is not an O-O stretching mode (for example, as might be associated with a peroxo species) but involves the O atom coordinated to a Ru center, and (2) the O(2) product does not contain an O atom derived from nitrate, eliminating several plausible pathways involving O-atom transfer to oxidized dimer. Although these results are surprising, similar phenomena have been reported for water oxidation catalyzed by monomeric Ru complexes. The dramatic effects observed for the "blue dimer" make it an ideal candidate for further study.
More Related Videos
10:39Heterogeneous Removal of Water-Soluble Ruthenium Olefin Metathesis Catalyst from Aqueous Media Via Host-Guest Interaction
Published on: August 23, 2018
09:17Reductive Electropolymerization of a Vinyl-containing Poly-pyridyl Complex on Glassy Carbon and Fluorine-doped Tin Oxide Electrodes
Published on: January 30, 2015
Related Concept Videos
Rate-Determining Steps
In a multistep reaction mechanism, one of the elementary steps progresses significantly slower than the others. This slowest step is called the rate-limiting step (or rate-determining step). A reaction cannot proceed faster than its slowest step, and hence, the rate-determining step limits the overall reaction rate.
The concept of rate-determining step can be understood from the analogy of a 4-lane freeway with a short-stretch of traffic-bottleneck caused due to...
Catalysis
Catalysis
Heterogeneous Catalysis
Reduction of Alkenes: Asymmetric Catalytic Hydrogenation
The metal catalyst used can be either heterogeneous or homogeneous. When hydrogenation of an alkene generates a chiral center, a pair of enantiomeric products is expected to form. However, an enantiomeric excess of one of the products can be facilitated using an enantioselective reaction or an...
Regioselectivity and Stereochemistry of Acid-Catalyzed Hydration