Electrochemistry of a labile average-valence dicopper system.

Electrochemical studies on an average-valent dicopper cryptate demonstrate the existence of a solvent-assisted disproportionation in acetonitrile, which is absent in water. The existence of this process was confirmed via absorption spectroscopy, which allowed the evaluation of thermodynamic parameters. The disproportionation equilibrium is enthalpically controlled, and the results suggest an upper limit for the bond energy of the one-electron Cu-Cu bond of 200 kJ mol(-1).