Reactions of dioxygen (O2) with mononuclear copper(I) complexes: Temperature-dependent formation of peroxo- or oxo- (and dihydroxo-) bridged dicopper(II) complexes

The binding of O 2 to copper(I) and its subsequent reactivity is important in a variety of chemical and biological processes. We previously studied functional models of hemocyanins (arthropodal and molluscan O 2 carriers) involving a class of O 2 adducts [Cu 2 (Nn)(O 2 )] 2+ , where Nn are dinucleating ligands which employ two tridentate bis(2-pyridylethyl)amine (PY2) moieties, connected by a variable alkyl chain.