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HClO4 is an important catalyst in organic chemistry, and also acts as a reservoir or sink species in atmospheric chlorine chemistry. In this study, we computationally investigate the interactions of Bronsted (H2SO4, HClO4, HNO3) and Lewis acids (BH3, BF3, BCl3, BBr3, B(OH)(3)) with HClO4 using the omega B97xD method and the aug-cc-pVDZ basis set. Different isomers of clusters with up to 4 molecules (tetramer) were optimized, and the most stable structures were determined. The enthalpies, Delta H, and Gibbs free energies, Delta G, of cluster formation were calculated in the gas phase at 298 K. Atoms in molecules (AIM) calculations find B-O bond critical points only in the (BH3)(n)HClO4 clusters, while formation of other clusters was based on hydrogen bonding interactions. (H2SO4)HClO4 and (B(OH)(3))HClO4, with formation enthalpies of -14.1 and -12.0 kcal mol(-1), were the most stable, and (BCl3)HClO4 with a formation enthalpy of -2.9 kcal mol(-1), was the least stable cluster among the dimers. Clustering of the Lewis and Bronsted acids with HClO4 enhanced its acidity, so that clustering of four HClO4 molecules and formation of (HClO4)(4) increases the acidity of HClO4 by about 35 kcal mol(-1). The most acidic dimer cluster found in the study was (BBr3)HClO4, with Delta H-acid of 275 kcal mol(-1); 26 kcal mol(-1) stronger than that of the HClO4 monomer.

The reduction of potassium chromate has been carried out with a variety of OH-containing compounds as reductants, which include pentoses, polyols, glycols, and sugar derivatives. The corresponding reactions were followed using UV-vis and EPR spectroscopies and electrochemistry. The progress of the chromate reduction reactions has been monitored by measuring UV-vis and EPR spectra as a function of time. The observed pseudo first-order reaction rate constants are derived based on the changes in the intensities of the Cr(VI), Cr(V), and Cr(III) signals. Cyclic voltammograms of the simple reductants and their final Cr(III) products formed from the reactions of chromate have also been measured. The reductive abilities of all these reductants have been derived from the spectral data and are discussed on a comparative basis. Based on the results, the aspects that makes a particular reductant more efficient has been addressed. The results obtained from UV-vis, EPR, and cyclic voltammetry are found to be mutually dependent and exhibit among themselves a linear correlation, suggesting that both the reducing and complexing nature of these molecules play important roles in the chromate reduction.

The catalytic effect of tetraphenylporphyrin on the oxygen reduction with ferrocene in 1,2-dichloroethane can be finely tuned by varying the molar ratio of the acid to the catalyst present in the solution. The mechanism involves binding of molecular oxygen to the protonated free porphyrin base, in competition with ion pairing between the protonated base and the acid anion present.

Cobalt porphine (CoP) dissolved in the organic phase of a biphasic system is used to catalyze O2 reduction by an electron donor, ferrocene (Fc). Using voltammetry at the interface between two immiscible electrolyte solutions (ITIES), it is possible to drive this catalytic reduction at the interface as a function of the applied potential difference, where aqueous protons and organic electron donors combine to reduce O2. The current signal observed corresponds to a proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) reaction, as no current and no reaction can be observed in the absence of either the aqueous acid, CoP, Fc, or O2.

Oxygen reduction catalyzed by cobalt(II) (2,3,7,8,12,13,17,18-octaethylporphyrin) [Co(OEP)] at soft interfaces is studied by voltammetry and biphasic reactions. When Co(OEP) is present in a solution of 1,2-dichloroethane in contact with an aqueous acidic solution, oxygen is reduced if the interface is positively polarized (water phase versus organic phase). This reduction reaction is facilitated when an additional electron donor, here ferrocene, is present in excess in the organic phase.

Oxygen reduction catalyzed by cofacial metalloporphyrins at the 1,2-dichlorobenzene-water interface was studied with two lipophilic electron donors of similar driving force, 1,1'-dimethylferrocene (DMFc) and tetrathiafulvalene (TTF). The reaction produces mainly water and some hydrogen peroxide, but the mediator has a significant effect on the selectivity, as DMFc and the porphyrins themselves catalyze the decomposition and the further reduction of hydrogen peroxide. Density functional theory calculations indicate that the biscobaltporphyrin, 4,5-bis[5-(2,8,13,17-tetraethyl-3,7,12,18-tetramethylporphyrinyl)]-9,9-dimethylxanthene, Co-2(DPX), actually catalyzes oxygen reduction to hydrogen peroxide when oxygen is bound on the "exo" side ("dock-on") of the catalyst, while four-electron reduction takes place with oxygen bound on the "endo" side ("dock-in") of the molecule. These results can be explained by a "dock-on/dock-in" mechanism. The next step for improving bioinspired oxygen reduction catalysts would be blocking the "dock-on" path to achieve selective four-electron reduction of molecular oxygen.