ABSTRACT
Theoretical chemistry calculations using the Density Functional Theory (DFT) were carried out to understand the interaction between oxygen (O2) and MnN4 type manganese-based complexes during the formation of MnN4-O2 adducts. In order to understand how this interaction is affected by different macrocyclic ligands, O2 was bonded to manganese-porphyrin (MnP), manganese-octamethylporphyrin (MnOMP), manganese-tetraaza[14]annulene (MnTAA), manganese-dibenzo [b,i] [1, 4, 8, 11]-tetraaza [14] annulene (MnDBTAA), manganese-2,3,9,10-tetramethyl-1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradeca-1,3,8,10-tetraene ([(tim)Mn](2+)), and manganese-2,3,9,10-tetraphenyl-1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradeca-1,3,8,10-tetraene ([(ph-tim)Mn](2+)). The binding and activation of the oxygen molecule was facilitated by an increasing trend in the O-O bond lengths and a decreasing one in the O-O vibrational frequency, with preference for the O2 side-on interaction among MnN4 macrocycles. The catalytic activities of the MnN4 complexes toward the O2 binding process increased in the following order: [(ph-tim)Mn](2+) < MnP < MnOMP < MnDBTAA < MnTAA < [(tim)Mn](2+). Therefore, it was concluded that the [(tim)Mn](2+)complex was the most active for the binding and activation of molecular oxygen.
