Volume Profile Analysis for the Reversible Binding of Superoxide to Form Iron(II)-Superoxo/Iron(III)-Peroxo Porphyrin Complexes

The one-electron reduced iron(II)-dioxygen adduct, {Fe(II)-O(2)}(-), is known to be an important intermediate in the catalytic cycle of heme (mono)oxygenases. The same type of species, considered as Fe(III)-peroxo, can be formed in a direct reaction between a Fe(II) center and superoxide. In a unique high-pressure study of the reaction between superoxide and the Fe(II) complex of a crown ether porphyrin conjugate in dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), the overall Fe(II)-superoxide interaction mechanism could be visualized and the nature of all species that occur along the reaction coordinate could be clarified. The equilibrium between the low-spin and high-spin forms of the starting Fe(II) complex was quantified, which turns out to be the actual activation step toward substitution and subsequent inner-sphere electron transfer reactions. The constructed reaction volume profile demonstrates that the reaction product consists of Fe(III)-peroxo and Fe(II)-superoxo species that exist in equilibrium, which can better account for the versatile reactivity of {Fe(II)-O(2)}(-) adducts toward different substrates.