reduktohen

Reduktohen is a term used in theoretical chemistry and speculative fiction to describe a class of molecular species that mediate reduction reactions by coupling electron transfer with proton transfer. In this framework, reduktohen species act as redox mediators that can temporarily store reducing equivalents and deliver them to substrates, thereby enabling controlled hydrogenation or deoxygenation steps. They are depicted as cycling through oxidation states, often involving a metal center and a set of ligands that stabilize unusual oxidation states. The characteristic feature is their ability to orchestrate concerted hydrogen or hydride transfers, reducing substrates while regenerating the active form of the reduktohen in a catalytic cycle.

In practice, reduktohen is not an established chemical class in real-world chemistry; rather, it serves as a conceptual tool for modeling redox cascades, proton-coupled electron transfer mechanisms, and sustainable catalysis. In theoretical models, a reduktohen can shuttle electrons from a donor to a substrate while simultaneously delivering protons from a proton source, sometimes via a relay system within a ligand framework. This abstraction helps researchers compare different catalytic strategies for reductions, such as metal-hydride-based pathways or organo-hydrogenation routes, without asserting the existence of a single real-world compound.

See also: redox mediator, hydride donor, proton-coupled electron transfer, catalysis, hydrogenation.