Phenols reactions with copper complexes

The reaction of binuclear copper complexes with oxygen as models for tyrosinase activity was also markedly accelerated by applying pressure (106408 ). Tyrosinase is a dinuclear copper protein which catalyses the hydroxylation of phenols. This reaction was first successfully modeled by Karlin and co-workers (109), who found that an intramolecular hydroxylation occurred when the binuclear Cu(I) complex of XYL-H was treated with oxygen (Scheme 5). 

The reaction of imidazole-4,5-dicarbaldehyde with 2-aminoethylpyridine in the presence of copper(II) chloride has enabled the preparation of a binuclear complex (equation 2).29 A more common class of binuclear complex is based on template reactions of a phenolic dialdehyde with various amines and includes the copper complexes (14)30 31 and (15).32 Reactions of this type can be extended to the synthesis of macrocyclic binuclear complexes such as (16).33,34... 

In another related process, aryl ethers have been shown to undergo a facile cleavage reaction upon treatment with copper salts in the presence of an amine (Fig. 8-8). The driving force for the reaction is primarily the stabilisation of the phenoxide by co-ordination to the metal. Simple azo complexes have been shown to undergo these reactions under very mild conditions. The process is somewhat reminiscent of the Arbuzov reactions discussed in Chapter 4. The pyridine probably functions as both a ligand and as a base in this reaction. Reactions of this type are the basis of a useful conversion of a methoxy-substi-tuted dye, 8.6, to the corresponding phenol, 8.7, in the presence of copper(n) salts and ammonia. 

A typical example of the more complex reactions that may occur when aromatic compounds react with dioxygen in the presence of copper salts is seen in Fig. 9-30. When solutions of the hexadentate ligand 9.14 react with copper salts and dioxygen, a complex of a new ligand is obtained. The new phenolic compound that is formed acts as a dinucleating ligand and its dinuclear copper(n) complexes turn out to be effective oxygenation catalysts for other substrates. 

Dimethylphenol is oxidatively polymerized to poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenyl-ene ether) with a copper-amine complex by a laccaselike reaction. The activated phenols are coupled to form a dimer. The dimer is activated by a mechanism similar to that by which the polymerization proceeds. The effects of the amine ligands are to improve the solubility and the stability of the copper complex as well as the phenol-coordinated complex and to control the redox potential of the copper complex. 

Electron transfer from the substrates to 02 proceeds by a redox cycle that consists of copper(II) and copper(I). The high catalytic activity of the copper complex can be explained as follows (1) The redox potential of Cu(I)/Cu(II) fits the redox reaction. (2) The high affinity of Cu(I) to 02 results in rapid reoxidation of the catalyst. (3) Monomers can coordinate to, and dissociate from, the copper complex, and inner-sphere electron transfer proceeds in the intermediate complex. (4) The complex remains stable in the reaction system. It may be possible to investigate other catalysts whose redox potentials can be controlled by the selection of ligands and metal species to conform with these requisites several other suitable catalysts for oxidative polymerization of phenols, such as manganese and iron complexes, are candidates on the basis of their redox potentials. 

Many amine-copper complexes, as well as a few amine complexes of other metals, and certain metal oxides have since been shown to induce similar reactions (17, 18, 22, 23, 30). This chapter is concerned largely with the mechanism of oxidative polymerization of phenols to linear polyarylene ethers most of the work reported has dealt with the copper-amine catalyzed oxidation of 2,6-xylenol, which is the basis for the commercial production of the polymer marketed under the trade name PPO, but the principal features of the reaction are common to the oxidative polymerization of other 2,6-disubstituted phenols. 

From the known chemical properties of superoxide free radicals and hydrogen peroxide, it is unlikely that these two species will react directly with the range of biomolecules found in synovial fluid. It is more likely, particularly for superoxide radicals, that they will instead participate in redox reactions with complexes of metal ions such as iron and copper, although reaction with phenolic compounds cannot be excluded. It has been proposed therefore that synovial fluid, in particular hyaluronic acid, can be degraded in vivo through an iron-catalysed Haber-Weiss reaction. 

UUmann ether synthesis. The original Ullmann ether synthesis9 involved melting the salt of a phenol with an aryl bromide in the presence of copper metal. Yields are low. Williams et al.10 found that the reaction can be carried out at lower temperatures by using as solvent pyridine, which forms a complex with copper salts (cuprous chloride preferred), which provides catalysis for the reaction reflux temperature is then sufficient. 

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