Ligand-assisted, copper(II) acetate-accelerated azide-alkyne cycloaddition

Polytriazole ligands such as the widely used tris[(1-benzyl-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)methyl]amine (TBTA), are shown to assist copper(II) acetate-mediated azide-alkyne cycloaddition (AAC) reactions that involve nonchelating azides. Tris(2-{4-[(dimethylamino)methyl]-1H-1,2,3-traizol-1-yl}ethyl)amine (DTEA) outperforms TBTA in a number of reactions. The satisfactory solubility of DTEA in a wide range of polar and nonpolar solvents, including water and toluene, renders it advantageous under copper(II) acetate-mediated conditions. The copper(II) acetate-mediated formation of the three triazolyl groups in a tris(triazolyl)-based ligand occurs sequentially with an inhibitory effect in the last step. The kinetic investigations of the ligand-assisted reactions reveal an interesting mechanistic dependence on the relative affinity of azide and alkyne to copper (II). In addition to expanding the scope of the copper(II) acetate-mediated AAC reactions to include nonchelating azides, this work offers evidence for the mechanistic synergy between the title reaction and the alkyne oxidative homocoupling reaction. The elucidation of the structural details of the polytriazole-ligand-bound reactive species in copper(I/II)-mediated AAC reactions, however, awaits further characterization of the metal coordination chemistry of polytriazole ligands.