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Oh-oh! The mechanism of water oxidation by Tanaka's catalyst (shown schematically in the picture) has been studied by using quantum chemical methods. The formation of the OO bond between the two terminal oxo moieties of the catalyst lacks any thermodynamic driving force. The redox-active quinone ligand, however, assists in the addition of a water molecule to one of the Ru centers, thus facilitating the release of dioxygen.
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Ghosh et al. (2011) studied this question.
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