Managanese and dicopper complexes for bioinspired oxidation reactions: catalytic and mechanistic studies on C-H and C=C oxidations

Enzymes are high-weight molecules which catalyze most of the metabolic processes in living organisms. Very often, these proteins contain one or more 1st row transition metal ions in their active center (Fe, Cu, Co, Mn, Zn, etc.), and are known as metalloenzymes or metalloproteins. Among these, metalloenzymes that activate molecular oxygen and use it as terminal oxidant stand out because of the wide range of catalyzed reactions and their exquisite selectivity. In this PhD dissertation we develop low-weight synthetic bioinspired complexes that can mimic structural and/or functional features of the active center of oxigenases. In the first part, we describe the use of unsymmetric dinuclear Cu complexes which are capable of performing the oxidation of phenols and phenolates in a analogous manner of the tyrosinase protein. In the second part, we describe the use of mononuclear manganese complexes in the oxidation of alcanes and alquenes.

Environmental governance from a gender perspective. Theoretical reflections and case studies

In the second half of the twentieth century we saw the environmental debate escalate into one of the most challenging and complex issues that authorities at international, national, regional and municipal levels have to deal with. The inherent complexity of environmental problems, which brings out the interconnections between the economic, socio-cultural and ecological dimensions of the territory, is increased by the social, scientific and political focuses of the debate, and their interdependencies. In the framework of governance, scientific and technical assessments are a relevant but not “unique” source for legitimating environmental policymaking. The discussion is opened towards the consideration of different existing perspectives on the environment. The main objective of the present study is to systematize and explore in-depth the perspectives brought by feminism and gender to environmental governance. What is the specificity of a feminist and gender outlook? In what sense does it bring new light to environmental governance processes? Such questions are explored empirically and theoretically.