Protonation and Non-Innocent Ligand Behavior in Pyranopterin Dithiolene Molybdenum Complexes
Authors: Cassandra Gates '19, Haley Varnum '19, Catherine Getty '22, Natalie Loui '21, Ju Chen, Martin L. Kirk, Jing Yang, Sharon J. Nieter Burgmayer
Source: Inorganic Chemistry, Volume: 61, Issue: 35, Pages: 13728-13742, DOI: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.2c01234, September 2022
Type of Publication: Journal Article
Abstract: The complex [TEA][Tp*MoIV(O)(S2BMOPP)] (1) [TEA = tetraethylammonium, Tp* = tris(3,5-dimethylpyrazolyl)hydroborate, and BMOPP = 6-(3-butynyl-2-methyl-2-ol)-2-pivaloyl pterin] is a structural analogue of the molybdenum cofactor common to all pyranopterin molybdenum enzymes because it possesses a pyranopterin-ene-1,2-dithiolate ligand (S2BMOPP) that exists primarily in the ring-closed pyrano structure as a resonance hybrid of ene-dithiolate and thione-thiolate forms. Compound 1, the protonated [Tp*MoIV(O)(S2BMOPP-H)] (1-H) and one-electron-oxidized [Tp*MoV(O)(S2BMOPP)] [1-Mo(5+)] species have been studied using a combination of electrochemistry, electronic absorption, and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. Additional insight into the nature of these molecules has been derived from electronic structure computations. Differences in dithiolene C–S bond lengths correlate with relative contributions from both ene-dithiolate and thione-thiolate resonance structures. Upon protonation of 1 to form 1-H, large spectroscopic changes are observed with transitions assigned as Mo(xy) → pyranopterin metal-to-ligand charge transfer and dithiolene → pyranopterin intraligand charge transfer, respectively, and this underscores a dramatic change in electronic structure between 1 and 1-H. The changes in electronic structure that occur upon protonation of 1 are also reflected in a large >300 mV increase in the Mo(V/IV) redox potential for 1-H, resulting from the greater thione-thiolate resonance contribution and decreased charge donation that stabilize the Mo(IV) state in 1-H with respect to one-electron oxidation. EPR spin Hamiltonian parameters for one-electron-oxidized 1-Mo(5+) and uncyclized [Tp*MoV(O)(S2BDMPP)] [3-Mo(5+)] [BDMPP = 6-(3-butynyl-2,2-dimethyl)-2-pivaloyl pterin] are very similar to each other and to those of [Tp*MoVO(bdt)] (bdt = 1,2-ene-dithiolate). This indicates that the dithiolate form of the ligand dominates at the Mo(V) level, consistent with the demand for greater S → Mo charge donation and a corresponding increase in Mo–S covalency as the oxidation state of the metal is increased. Protonation of 1 represents a simple reaction that models how the transfer of a proton from neighboring acidic amino acid residues to the Mo cofactor at a nitrogen atom within the pyranopterin dithiolene (PDT) ligand in pyranopterin molybdenum enzymes can impact the electronic structure of the Mo-PDT unit. This work also illustrates how pyran ring–chain tautomerization drives changes in resonance contributions to the dithiolene chelate and may adjust the reduction potential of the Mo ion.
Sharon Burgmayer is the W. Alton Jones Professor of Chemistry.