A mechanistic model is formulated to account for the high reactivity of chelating azides (organic azides capable of chelation-assisted metal coordination at the alkylated azido nitrogen position) and copper(II) acetate (Cu(OAc)2) in copper(II)-mediated azide-alkyne cycloaddition (AAC) reactions. Fluorescence and 1H NMR assays are developed for monitoring the reaction progress in two different solvents – methanol and acetonitrile. Solvent kinetic isotopic effect and pre-mixing experiments give credence to the proposed different induction reactions for converting copper(II) to catalytic copper(I) species in methanol (methanol oxidation) and acetonitrile (alkyne oxidative homocoupling), respectively. The kinetic orders of individual components in a chelation-assisted, copper(II)-accelerated AAC reaction are determined in both methanol and acetonitrile. Key conclusions resulting from the kinetic studies include (1) the interaction between copper ion (either in +1 or +2 oxidation state) and a chelating azide occurs in a fast, pre-equilibrium step prior to the formation of the in-cycle copper(I)-acetylide, (2) alkyne deprotonation is involved in several kinetically significant steps, and (3) consistent with prior experimental and computational results by other groups, two copper centers are involved in the catalysis. The X-ray crystal structures of chelating azides with Cu(OAc)2 suggest a mechanistic synergy between alkyne oxidative homocoupling and copper(II)-accelerated AAC reactions, in which both a bimetallic catalytic pathway and a base are involved. The different roles of the two copper centers (a Lewis acid to enhance the electrophilicity of the azido group and a two-electron reducing agent in oxidative metallacycle formation, respectively) in the proposed catalytic cycle suggest that a mixed valency (+2 and +1) dinuclear copper species be a highly efficient catalyst. This proposition is supported by the higher activity of the partially reduced Cu(OAc)2 in mediating a 2-picolylazide-involved AAC reaction than the fully reduced Cu(OAc)2. Finally, the discontinuous kinetic behavior that has been observed by us and others in copper(I/II)-mediated AAC reactions is explained by the likely catalyst disintegration during the course of a relatively slow reaction. Complementing the prior mechanistic conclusions drawn by other investigators which primarily focus on the copper(I)/alkyne interactions, we emphasize the kinetic significance of copper(I/II)/azide interaction. This work not only provides a mechanism accounting for the fast Cu(OAc)2-mediated AAC reactions involving chelating azides, which has apparent practical implications, but suggests the significance of mixed-valency dinuclear copper species in catalytic reactions where two copper centers carry different functions.

The copper(I)-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) reaction regiospecifically produces 1,4-disubstituted-1,2,3-triazole molecules. This heterocycle formation chemistry has high tolerance to reaction conditions and substrate structures. Therefore, it has been practiced not only within, but also far beyond the area of heterocyclic chemistry. Herein, the mechanistic understanding of CuAAC is summarized, with a particular emphasis on the significance of copper/azide interactions. Our analysis concludes that the formation of the azide/copper(I) acetylide complex in the early stage of the reaction dictates the reaction rate. The subsequent triazole ring-formation step is fast and consequently possibly kinetically invisible. Therefore, structures of substrates and copper catalysts, as well as other reaction variables that are conducive to the formation of the copper/alkyne/azide ternary complex predisposed for cycloaddition would result in highly efficient CuAAC reactions. Specifically, terminal alkynes with relatively low pKa values and an inclination to engage in π-backbonding with copper(I), azides with ancillary copper-binding ligands (aka chelating azides), and copper catalysts that resist aggregation, balance redox activity with Lewis acidity, and allow for dinuclear cooperative catalysis are favored in CuAAC reactions. Brief discussions on the mechanistic aspects of internal alkyne-involved CuAAC reactions are also included, based on the relatively limited data that are available at this point.

Copper(II) acetate mediated coupling reactions between 2,6-bis(azidomethyl)pyridine or 2-picolylazide and two terminal alkynes afford 1,2,3-triazolyl-containing ligands L(1)-L(6). These ligands contain various nitrogen-based Lewis basic sites including two different pyridyls, two nitrogen atoms on a 1,2,3-triazolyl ring, and the azido group. A rich structural diversity, which includes mononuclear and dinuclear complexes as well as one-dimensional polymers, was observed in the copper(II) complexes of L(1)-L(6). The preference of copper(II) to two common bidentate 1,2,3-triazolyl-containing coordination sites was investigated using isothermal titration calorimetry and, using zinc(II) as a surrogate, in (1)H NMR titration experiments. The magnetic interactions between the copper(II) centers in three dinuclear complexes were analyzed via temperature-dependent magnetic susceptibility measurements and high-frequency electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. The observed magnetic superexchange is strongly dependent on the orientation of magnetic orbitals of the copper(II) ions and can be completely turned off if these orbitals are arranged orthogonal to each other. This work demonstrates the versatility of 1,2,3-triazolyl-containing polyaza ligands in forming metal coordination complexes of a rich structural diversity and interesting magnetic properties.

Rapid coupling reactions between 2,6-bis(azidomethyl)pyridine and terminal alkynes in the presence of 5 mol% Cu(OAc)(2)·H(2)O without the addition of a reducing agent afford tridentate ligands for first-row transition-metal ions. The chelation between Cu(II) and alkylated nitrogen atoms of the azido groups of 2,6-bis(azidomethyl)pyridine, as observed in the solid state, is credited for the acceleration of the azide-alkyne cycloaddition reactions.

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