Alternative Ligand Design for Copper Hydroxide Complexes

Abstract

The development of synthetic model complexes for copper-oxygen intermediates, formed in the active sites of copper metalloenzymes, has been a vibrant research area for a number of years. This thesis describes efforts towards the preparation of mononuclear copper hydroxide complexes, as recent studies have established copper(III)-hydroxides as potent chemical oxidants. Reported examples of reactive copper(III)-hydroxides, prior to the work described herein, have been exclusively supported by bis(arylcarboxamido)-pyridine ligands. Alternative ligand designs were proposed that would evaluate how supporting ligands may influence the properties of copper(III)-hydroxide complexes.