A peroxynitrite complex of copper: formation from a copper–nitrosyl complex, transformation to nitrite and exogenous phenol oxidative coupling or nitration

Reaction of nitrogen monoxide with a copper(I) complex possessing a tridentate alkylamine ligand gives a Cu(I)–(·NO) adduct, which when exposed to dioxygen generates a peroxynitrite (O=NOO−)–Cu(II) species. This undergoes thermal transformation to produce a copper(II) nitrito (NO2 –) complex and 0.5 mol equiv O2. In the presence of a substituted phenol, the peroxynitrite complex effects oxidative coupling, whereas addition of chloride ion to dissociate the peroxynitrite moiety instead leads to phenol ortho nitration. Discussions include the structures (including electronic description) of the copper–nitrosyl and copper–peroxynitrite complexes and the formation of the latter, based on density functional theory calculations and accompanying spectroscopic data.