Mild oxidative functionalization of cycloalkanes catalyzed by novel dicopper(II) cores

The search for new transition metal based catalytic systems that are active in the oxidative functionalization of such inert substrates as saturated hydrocarbons continues to be an important research direction in molecular catalysis. In the present study, two new copper(II) coordination compounds, namely a discrete dimer [Cu2(μ-H2tea)2(nfa)2]·2H2O (1) and a 1D coordination polymer [Cu2(μ-H2tea)2(μ-Htma)]n·4nH2O (2) were synthesized and applied as homogeneous catalysts for the mild oxidative functionalization of cycloalkanes (cyclopentane, cyclohexane, cycloheptane, and cyclooctane). Both products 1 and 2 were self-assembled in aqueous medium from copper(II) nitrate, triethanolamine (H3tea), sodium hydroxide, and 2-naphthoic (Hnfa) or trimesic (H3tma) acids, isolated as stable crystalline solids, and fully characterized by standard methods including single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Their structures feature a similar type of dicopper(II) triethanolaminate cores that are decorated by terminal or bridging aromatic carboxylate ligands. Two model catalytic reactions were investigated, namely the oxidation of cycloalkanes by H2O2 to produce cycloalkyl hydroperoxides as intermediate products and then a mixture of cyclic alcohols and ketones as final products, and the carboxylation of cycloalkanes with CO/S2O82−/H2O to form cycloalkanecarboxylic acids as main products. These model reactions undergo under very mild conditions (50−60 °C) and show good efficiency. Substrate scope, selectivity features, and the effects of reaction parameters were investigated and discussed in detail. This study widens the family of multicopper(II) cores capable of catalyzing the oxidative functionalization of saturated hydrocarbons under mild conditions. © 2021 Elsevier B.V.