A Minimalist Approach to CH Activation by Copper

✍ Scribed by Anita Kuebel-Pollak; Stéphane Rüttimann; Nichola Dunn; Xavier Melich; Alan F. Williams; Gérald Bernardinelli

• Book ID: 102253372
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2006
• Tongue: German
• Weight: 160 KB
• Volume: 89
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0018-019X
• DOI: 10.1002/hlca.200690086

✦ Synopsis

Dedicated to Professor Andreas Zuberbühler on the occasion of his retirement

The complex [Cu 2 (1) 2 ] 2+ (1 = 1,3-bis(1-methyl-1H-benzimidazol-2-yl)benzene) undergoes slow oxidation by dioxygen in DMF solution to give the hydroxylated product [Cu 2 (2-H) 2 ] 2+ (2 = 2,6-bis(1-methyl-1H-benzimidazol-2-yl)phenol) characterized by an X-ray crystal-structure analysis. The oxidation occurs much faster when Cu II is mixed with 1 in the presence of H 2 O 2 , with 80% hydroxylation observed within a few minutes. The mononuclear complex formed with 1-methyl-2-phenyl-1H-benzimidazole (3) shows no hydroxylation under these conditions. It is concluded that the hydroxylation requires the presence of a ligand capable of stabilizing a binuclear species, but no special coordinative activation of the copper is required.