Structural, Mechanistic, and Ultradilute Catalysis Portrayal of Substrate Inhibition in the TAML–Hydrogen Peroxide Catalytic Oxidation of the Persistent Drug and Micropollutant, Propranolol

TAML activators enable unprecedented, rapid, ultradilute oxidation catalysis where substrate inhibitions might seem improbable. Nevertheless, while TAML/H₂O₂ rapidly degrades the drug propranolol, a micropollutant (MP) of broad concern, propranolol is shown to inhibit its own destruction under concentration conditions amenable to kinetics studies ([propranolol] = 50 μM). Substrate inhibition manifests as a decrease in the second-order rate constant k_I for H₂O₂ oxidation of the resting Fe^III-TAML (RC) to the activated catalyst (AC), while the second-order rate constant k_II for attack of AC on propranolol is unaffected. This kinetics signature has been utilized to develop a general approach for quantifying substrate inhibitions. Fragile adducts [propranolol, TAML] have been isolated and subjected to ESI-MS, florescence, UV–vis, FTIR, ¹H NMR, and IC examination and DFT calculations. Propranolol binds to Fe^III-TAMLs via combinations of noncovalent hydrophobic, coordinative, hydrogen bonding, and Coulombic interactions. Across four studied TAMLs under like conditions, propranolol reduced k_I 4–32-fold (pH 7, 25 °C) indicating that substrate inhibition is controllable by TAML design. However, based on the measured k_I and calculated equilibrium constant K for propranolol–TAML binding, it is possible to project the impact on k_I of reducing [propranolol] from 50 μM to the ultradilute regime typical of MP contaminated waters (≤2 ppb, ≤7 nM for propranolol) where inhibition nearly vanishes. Projecting from 50 μM to higher concentrations, propranolol completely inhibits its own oxidation before reaching mM concentrations. This study is consistent with prior experimental findings that substrate inhibition does not impede TAML/H₂O₂ destruction of propranolol in London wastewater while giving a substrate inhibition assessment tool for use in the new field of ultradilute oxidation catalysis.