Collect. Czech. Chem. Commun. 1997, 62, 1150-1158
https://doi.org/10.1135/cccc19971150

Restricted Intramolecular Energy Flow in Large Molecules. Heterogeneous and Enzyme Catalysis

Milan Šolc

Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, 160 00 Prague 6, Czech Republic

Abstract

The free intramolecular energy flow can be restricted by the presence of a heavy atom in the molecule. As a result of this restriction, adsorbed molecules bonded on the metal surface and/or substrate molecules in the enzyme-substrate complex with a metal atom near the binding site can have a higher vibrational energy than the surroundings. The reaction rate is then enhanced by this energy localization.

Keywords: Intramolecular energy flow; Enzyme catalysis; Heterogeneous catalysis; Heavy atoms.