Amino Acids Ligated Cu(II)-OOH in Water at Room Temperature

Metal-amino acid interactions are central to controlling oxygen activation in biological systems. In this study, we demonstrate the use of readily available amino acids as ligands to stabilize a Cu(II)-OOH intermediate in water under ambient conditions. This approach avoids the complex ligand synthesis and uses hydrogen peroxide as a benign oxidant, aligning with sustainability principles. The Cu(II)-OOH species was identified and characterized using multiple spectroscopic techniques, including UV-visible, Electron Paramagnetic Resonance, resonance Raman, and X-ray absorption spectroscopy, with its structure further evaluated by density functional theory (DFT) calculations. These findings highlight an energy-efficient, green method for accessing reactive copper-oxygen species and underscore the potential of amino acid ligation in developing green catalytic systems for oxidation chemistry.