Dioxygen in Polyoxometalate Mediated Reactions

In this review article, we consider the use of molecular oxygen in reactions mediated by polyoxometalates. Polyoxometalates are anionic metal oxide clusters of a variety of structures that are soluble in liquid phases and therefore amenable to homogeneous catalytic transformations. Often, they are active for electron transfer oxidations of a myriad of substrates and upon reduction can be reoxidized by molecular oxygen. For example, the phosphovanadomolybdate, H5PV2Mo10O40, can oxidize Pd(0) thereby enabling aerobic reactions catalyzed by Pd and H5PV2Mo10O40. In a similar vein, polyoxometalates can stabilize metal nanoparticles, leading to additional transformations. Furthermore, electron transfer oxidation of other substrates such as halides and sulfur-containing compounds is possible. More uniquely, H5PV2Mo10O40 and its analogues can mediate electron transfer-oxygen transfer reactions where oxygen atoms are transferred from the polyoxometalate to the substrate. This unique property has enabled correspondingly unique transformations involving carbon–carbon, carbon–hydrogen, and carbon–metal bond activation. The pathway for the reoxidation of vanadomolybdates with O2 appears to be an inner-sphere reaction, but the oxidation of one-electron reduced polyoxotungstates has been shown through intensive research to be an outer-sphere reaction. Beyond electron transfer and electron transfer–oxygen transfer aerobic transformations, there a few examples of apparent dioxygenase activity where both oxygen atoms are donated to a substrate.