Mechanisms of metal ion-coupled electron transfer

Redox inactive metal ions acting as Lewis acids can control electron transfer from electron donors (D) to electron acceptors (A) by binding to radical anions of electron acceptors which act as Lewis bases. Such electron transfer is defined as metal ion-coupled electron transfer (MCET). Mechanisms of metal ion-coupled electron transfer are classified mainly into two pathways, i.e., metal ion binding to electron acceptors followed by electron transfer (MB/ET) and electron transfer followed by metal ion binding to the resulting radical anions of electron acceptors (ET/MB). In the former case, electron transfer and the stronger binding of metal ions to the radical anions occur in a concerted manner. Examples are shown in each case to clarify the factors to control MCET reactions in both thermal and photoinduced electron-transfer reactions including back electron-transfer reactions.