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Small change, big difference: A minor structural modification of water-oxidation catalysts changes the kinetics of O 2 evolution from second-to first-order (see scheme). According to DFT calculations, the torsional flexibility of the chelating ligands and their reorganization through the catalytic cycle are implicated in pathway selectivity, and the auxiliary carboxylate group becomes involved in proton-coupled nucleophilic attack.© 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.