Electric fields underlie all reactions and impact reactivity by interacting with the dipoles and net charges of transition states, products, and reactants to modify the free energy landscape. However, they are rarely given deliberate consideration in synthetic design to rationally control reactivity. Proximal charged functionalities can generate internal electric fields in molecular systems but the magnitude of their effect and impact on electronic structure has been minimally explored. We have characterized the electric field effects of proximal cations in transition metal complexes. We have also explored how they influence the thermochemical properties at the active sites and can disrupt linear free energy relationships that correlate reaction rates with thermodynamic driving force.

Installing internal electric fields at active sites using proximal cations

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