A DFT Study of Electronic Inductive and Resonance Effects of Substituents on Concerted Two‐Proton‐Coupled Electron Transfer Between Catechol Derivatives and Superoxide.

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Title: A DFT Study of Electronic Inductive and Resonance Effects of Substituents on Concerted Two‐Proton‐Coupled Electron Transfer Between Catechol Derivatives and Superoxide.
Authors: Nakayama, Tatsushi1 (AUTHOR) tnakayama@gifu‐pu.ac.jp
Source: Journal of Physical Organic Chemistry. Feb2026, Vol. 39 Issue 2, p1-14. 14p.
Subjects: Inductive effect, Resonance effect, Oxidation-reduction reaction, Computational chemistry, Catechol, Functional groups, Superoxides
Abstract: The development of biomimetic electron transfer catalysts based on proton‐coupled electron transfer (PCET), which is characterized by quinone–hydroquinone π‐conjugation, represents a promising approach for achieving highly efficient artificial energy conversion. Herein, I report a density functional theory (DFT)‐based analysis of the electronic inductive (I) and resonance (R) effects of substituents on concerted two‐proton‐coupled electron transfer (2PCET) between benzene‐1,2‐diol (catechol) derivatives and the superoxide radical anion (O2•−). In this study, I investigated the relationship between the type and number of substituents and their effects on 2PCET using 12 catechol derivatives. Four types of substituents—methyl (+I, +R), chloro (−I, +R), methoxy (−I, +R), and cyano (−I, −R)—were selected in mono‐, di‐, tri‐, and tetra‐substituted forms to isolate and analyze their electronic effects without additional functionalities. My DFT results confirmed that substituent effects selectively enhance either proton or electron transfer along a sequential PCET pathway. Further analysis revealed that the R effect is the primary driving force for concerted 2PCET, where an increasing number of methyl or chloro substituents promotes the reaction, whereas cyano substituents suppress it. The I and R effects influence the electronic properties of the catechol molecule in proportion to the number of substituents. However, free energy calculations indicated kinetic and thermodynamic deviations, suggesting that the substituents directly affected the two hydroxyl groups—the reaction sites of 2PCET—as well as their solvation environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal of Physical Organic Chemistry is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
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  Data: A DFT Study of Electronic Inductive and Resonance Effects of Substituents on Concerted Two‐Proton‐Coupled Electron Transfer Between Catechol Derivatives and Superoxide.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Nakayama%2C+Tatsushi%22">Nakayama, Tatsushi</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> tnakayama@gifu‐pu.ac.jp</i>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Physical+Organic+Chemistry%22">Journal of Physical Organic Chemistry</searchLink>. Feb2026, Vol. 39 Issue 2, p1-14. 14p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Inductive+effect%22">Inductive effect</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Resonance+effect%22">Resonance effect</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Oxidation-reduction+reaction%22">Oxidation-reduction reaction</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Computational+chemistry%22">Computational chemistry</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Catechol%22">Catechol</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Functional+groups%22">Functional groups</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Superoxides%22">Superoxides</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: The development of biomimetic electron transfer catalysts based on proton‐coupled electron transfer (PCET), which is characterized by quinone–hydroquinone π‐conjugation, represents a promising approach for achieving highly efficient artificial energy conversion. Herein, I report a density functional theory (DFT)‐based analysis of the electronic inductive (I) and resonance (R) effects of substituents on concerted two‐proton‐coupled electron transfer (2PCET) between benzene‐1,2‐diol (catechol) derivatives and the superoxide radical anion (O2•−). In this study, I investigated the relationship between the type and number of substituents and their effects on 2PCET using 12 catechol derivatives. Four types of substituents—methyl (+I, +R), chloro (−I, +R), methoxy (−I, +R), and cyano (−I, −R)—were selected in mono‐, di‐, tri‐, and tetra‐substituted forms to isolate and analyze their electronic effects without additional functionalities. My DFT results confirmed that substituent effects selectively enhance either proton or electron transfer along a sequential PCET pathway. Further analysis revealed that the R effect is the primary driving force for concerted 2PCET, where an increasing number of methyl or chloro substituents promotes the reaction, whereas cyano substituents suppress it. The I and R effects influence the electronic properties of the catechol molecule in proportion to the number of substituents. However, free energy calculations indicated kinetic and thermodynamic deviations, suggesting that the substituents directly affected the two hydroxyl groups—the reaction sites of 2PCET—as well as their solvation environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Physical Organic Chemistry is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1002/poc.70064
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        PageCount: 14
        StartPage: 1
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Inductive effect
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Resonance effect
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Oxidation-reduction reaction
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Computational chemistry
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Catechol
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Functional groups
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Superoxides
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: A DFT Study of Electronic Inductive and Resonance Effects of Substituents on Concerted Two‐Proton‐Coupled Electron Transfer Between Catechol Derivatives and Superoxide.
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            NameFull: Nakayama, Tatsushi
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            – D: 01
              M: 02
              Text: Feb2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
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              Value: 39
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            – TitleFull: Journal of Physical Organic Chemistry
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