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Updated: Sep 4, 2025
![[DPEPhosbcpCu]PF6: A General and Broadly Applicable Copper-Based Photoredox Catalyst](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcloudfront.jove.com%2FCDNSource%2Fteasers%2F59739.jpg&w=3840&q=50)
[DPEPhosbcpCu]PF6: A General and Broadly Applicable Copper-Based Photoredox Catalyst
Published on: May 21, 2019
Exploring the Reaction Mechanism of C-H Oxidation by Copper-Salen Complexes
1Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama36849, United States.
Abstract:
The mechanism of C-H oxidation of propylene (C3H6) and 1-phenyl-1-pentyne (C3H7-C≡C-Ph) by HOOR (R═Me, Bu) and 3O2 by a copper-salen complex was explored by computations. The most noteworthy step is the complexation of two Cu salens to the peroxide to form either the LCuOH/LCuOR pair or an OH-bridged complex LCu(μ-OH)CuL plus OR. The latter pathway involves an avoided crossing of two triplet electronic states. The LCuOH complex can abstract a hydrogen atom from C3H6 and the C3H5 radical plus 3O2 forms the complex LCuOOC3H5. Migration of a hydrogen to the proximal oxygen atom reforms LCuOH and acrolein HC(O)CH═CH2.
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