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Published on: September 5, 2018
Effect of water on the catalytic oxidation of catechols
Moses G Gichinga1, Susanne Striegler
1Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Auburn University, 179 Chemistry Building, Auburn, Alabama 36849-5123, USA.
Abstract:
A dinuclear copper(II) complex derived from a new water-soluble pentadentate Schiff base backbone ligand has been prepared and characterized in solution and in the solid state. The complex has been found to accelerate the aerobic oxidation of 3,5-di- tert-butylcatechol (DTBC) into 3,5-di- tert-butylquinone (DTBQ) by 5 orders of magnitude, compared to the background reaction in aqueous methanol (k(cat)/k(non) = 160,000) at 30 degrees C. The transformation of the model substrate is considerably slower in pure methanol (k(cat)/k(non) = 60,000) under otherwise identical conditions. In-depth investigation of the catalytically active species revealed different structures for the copper(II) complex in methanol and in methanol/water mixtures.
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