Synthesis and thermal and hydrolytic conversion of heterometallic copper oxide-alkoxides

Oxo complexes of copper-zirconium alkoxides are produced by hydrolysis or oxidation with molecular oxygen. These oxide-alkoxide species have different thermal decomposition products when compared to alkoxides species due to increased number of O(super 2-) ligands and less metal segregation. Magnetic, spectroscopic and thermal studies of heterometallic alkoxides show that these compounds undergo internal redox with isopropoxide ligands yielding acetone, alcohol and copper metal.