Copper-sulfenate complex from oxidation of a cavity mutant of Pseudomonas aeruginosa azurin.

Metal-sulfenate centers are known to play important roles in biology and yet only limited examples are known due to their instability and high reactivity. Herein we report a copper-sulfenate complex characterized in a protein environment, formed at the active site of a cavity mutant of an electron transfer protein, type 1 blue copper azurin. Reaction of hydrogen peroxide with Cu(I)-M121G azurin resulted in a species with strong visible absorptions at 350 and 452 nm and a relatively low electron paramagnetic resonance gz value of 2.

Copper dioxygen (bio)inorganic chemistry.

Cu/O2 intermediates in biological, homogeneous, and heterogeneous catalysts exhibit unique spectral features that reflect novel geometric and electronic structures that make significant contributions to reactivity. This review considers how the respective intermediate electronic structures overcome the spin-forbidden nature of O2 binding, activate O2 for electrophilic aromatic attack and H-atom abstraction, catalyze the 4 e- reduction of O2 to H2O, and discusses the role of exchange coupling between Cu ions in determining reactivity.

Oxygen precursor to the reactive intermediate in methanol synthesis by Cu-ZSM-5.

The reactive oxidizing species in the selective oxidation of methane to methanol in oxygen activated Cu-ZSM-5 was recently defined to be a bent mono(μ-oxo)dicopper(II) species, [Cu(2)O](2+). In this communication we report the formation of an O(2)-precursor of this reactive site with an associated absorption band at 29,000 cm(-1). Laser excitation into this absorption feature yields a resonance Raman (rR) spectrum characterized by (18)O(2) isotope sensitive and insensitive vibrations, νO-O and νCu-Cu, at 736 (Δ(18)O(2) = 41 cm(-1)) and 269 cm(-1), respectively.

Spectroscopic and computational studies of an end-on bound superoxo-Cu(II) complex: geometric and electronic factors that determine the ground state.

A variety of techniques including absorption, magnetic circular dichroism (MCD), variable-temperature, variable-field MCD (VTVH-MCD), and resonance Raman (rR) spectroscopies are combined with density functional theory (DFT) calculations to elucidate the electronic structure of the end-on (η(1)) bound superoxo-Cu(II) complex [TMG(3)trenCuO(2)](+) (where TMG(3)tren is 1,1,1-tris[2-[N(2)-(1,1,3,3-tetramethylguanidino)]ethyl]amine). The spectral features of [TMG(3)trenCuO(2)](+) are assigned, including the first definitive assignment of a superoxo intraligand transition in a metal-superoxo complex, and a detailed description of end-on superoxo-Cu(II) bonding is developed. The lack of overlap between the two magnetic orbitals of [TMG(3)trenCuO(2)](+) eliminates antiferromagnetic coupling between the copper(II) and the superoxide, while the significant superoxo π*(σ) character of the copper dz(2) orbital leads to its ferromagnetically coupled, triplet, ground state.

Transition-metal ions in zeolites: coordination and activation of oxygen.

Zeolites containing transition-metal ions (TMIs) often show promising activity as heterogeneous catalysts in pollution abatement and selective oxidation reactions. In this paper, two aspects of research on the TMIs Cu, Co, and Fe in zeolites are discussed: (i) coordination to the lattice and (ii) activated oxygen species. At low loading, TMIs preferably occupy exchange sites in six-membered oxygen rings (6MR), where the TMIs preferentially coordinate with the O atoms of Al tetrahedra.

Thioether S-ligation in a side-on micro-eta2:eta2-peroxodicopperii complex.

[(ANS)Cu(I)(CH(3)CN)](+) reacts with O(2) giving [{(ANS)Cu(II)}(2)(micro-eta(2):eta(2)-O(2)(2-))](2+), nu(O-O) = 731 cm(-1), shown to possess S-thioether ligation, based on comparisons with analogues having all N-ligands or a -S(Ph) group. The finding is a rare occurrence and new for side-on O(2)(2-) binding.

Copper(I)/O2 chemistry with imidazole containing tripodal tetradentate ligands leading to mu-1,2-peroxo-dicopper(II) species.

Cuprous and cupric complexes with the new imidazolyl containing tripodal tetradentate ligands {L(MIm), (1H-imidazol-4-yl)-N,N-bis((pyridin-2-yl)methyl)methanamine, and L(EIm), 2-(1H-imidazol-4-yl)-N,N-bis((pyridin-2-yl)methyl)ethanamine}, have been investigated to probe differences in their chemistry, especially in copper(I)-dioxygen chemistry, compared to that already known for the pyridyl analogue TMPA, tris(2-pyridyl)methyl)amine. Infrared (IR) stretching frequencies obtained from carbon monoxide adducts of [(L(MIm))Cu(I)](+) (1a) and [(L(EIm))Cu(I)](+) (2a) show that the imidazolyl donor is stronger than its pyridyl analogue. Electrochemical data suggest differences in the binding constant of Cu(II) to L(EIm) compared to TMPA and L(MIm), reflecting geometric changes.

A [Cu2O]2+ core in Cu-ZSM-5, the active site in the oxidation of methane to methanol.

Driven by the depletion of crude oil, the direct oxidation of methane to methanol has been of considerable interest. Promising low-temperature activity of an oxygen-activated zeolite, Cu-ZSM-5, has recently been reported in this selective oxidation and the active site in this reaction correlates with an absorption feature at 22,700 cm(-1). In the present study, this absorption band is used to selectively resonance enhance Raman vibrations of this active site.

Molecular oxygen and sulfur reactivity of a cyclotriveratrylene derived trinuclear copper(I) complex.

Our continuing efforts into developing copper coordination chemistry relevant to dioxygen-processing copper proteins has led us to design and synthesize a cyclotriveratrylene (CTV)-based trinucleating ligand, CTV-TMPA, which employs tetradentate tris(2-pyridylmethyl)-amine chelates (TMPA) for their copper ion binding sites. Binding of three copper ions per CTV-TMPA unit was established by various chemical and spectroscopic methods such as UV-vis and resonance Raman (rR) spectroscopies. The following complexes were observed: A tricopper(I) complex [(CTV-TMPA)Cu(I)(3)](3+) (1), a CO adduct [(CTV-TMPA)Cu(I)(3)(CO)(3)](3+) (1-CO; nu(C=O) = 2094 cm(-1)), a triphenylphosphine adduct [(CTV-TMPA)Cu(I)(3)(PPh(3))(3)](3+) (1-PPh(3)), a tricopper(II) complex [(CTV-TMPA)Cu(II)(3)](3+) (1-Ox), and its tris-monochloride or tris-monobromide adducts.

Copper dioxygen adducts: formation of bis(mu-oxo)dicopper(III) versus (mu-1,2)Peroxodicopper(II) complexes with small changes in one pyridyl-ligand substituent.

The preference for the formation of a particular Cu 2O 2 isomer coming from (ligand)-Cu (I)/O 2 reactivity can be regulated with the steric demands of a TMPA (tris(2-pyridylmethyl)amine) derived ligand possessing 6-pyridyl substituents on one of the three donor groups of the tripodal tetradentate ligand. When this substituent is an -XHR group (X = N or C) the traditional Cu (I)/O 2 adduct forms a (mu-1,2)peroxodicopper(II) species ( A). However, when the substituent is the slightly bulkier XR 2 moiety {aryl or NR 2 (R not equal H)}, a bis(mu-oxo)dicopper(III) structure ( C) is favored.

Copper(I)/S(8) reversible reactions leading to an end-on bound dicopper(II) disulfide complex: nucleophilic reactivity and analogies to copper-dioxygen chemistry.

Elemental sulfur (S8) reacts reversibly with the copper(I) complex [(TMPA')CuI](+) (1), where TMPA' is a TMPA (tris(2-pyridylmethyl)amine) analogue with a 6-CH2OCH3 substituent on one pyridyl ligand arm, affording a spectroscopically pure end-on bound disulfido-dicopper(II) complex [{(TMPA')Cu(II)}2(mu-1,2-S2(2-))](2+) (2) {nu(S-S) = 492 cm(-1); nu(Cu-S)sym = 309 cm(-1)}; by contrast, [(TMPA)Cu(I)(CH3CN)](+) (3)/S8 chemistry produces an equilibrium mixture of at least three complexes. The reaction of excess PPh3 with 2 leads to formal "release" of zerovalent sulfur and reduction of copper ion to give the corresponding complex [(TMPA')Cu(I)(PPh3)](+) (11) along with S=PPh3 as products. Dioxygen displaces the disulfur moiety from 2 to produce the end-on Cu2O2 complex, [{(TMPA')Cu(II)}2(mu-1,2-O2(2-)](2+) (9).

O2 and N2O activation by Bi-, Tri-, and tetranuclear Cu clusters in biology.

Copper-cluster sites in biology exhibit unique spectroscopic features reflecting exchange coupling between oxidized Cu's and e (-) delocalization in mixed valent sites. These novel electronic structures play critical roles in O 2 binding and activation for electrophilic aromatic attack and H-atom abstraction, the 4e (-)/4H (+) reduction of O 2 to H 2O, and in the 2e (-)/2H (+) reduction of N 2O. These electronic structure/reactivity correlations are summarized below.