Synthetic side-on peroxide-bound dicopper(II) (
S
P) complexes are important for understanding
the
active site structure/function of many copper-containing enzymes.
This work highlights the formation of new {CuII(μ-η2:η2-O2
2–)CuII} complexes (with electronic absorption and resonance Raman
(rR) spectroscopic characterization) using tripodal N3ArOH
ligands at −135 °C, which spontaneously participate in
intramolecular phenolic H-atom abstraction (HAA). This results in
the generation of bis(phenoxyl radical)bis(μ-OH)dicopper(II)
intermediates, substantiated by their EPR/UV–vis/rR spectroscopic
signatures and crystal structural determination of a diphenoquinone
dicopper(I) complex derived from ligand para-CC
coupling. The newly observed chemistry in these ligand–Cu systems
is discussed with respect to (a) our Cu-MeAN (tridentate N,N,N′,N′,N″-pentamethyldipropylenetriamine)-derived
model
S
P species, which was unreactive
toward exogenous monophenol addition (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2012, 134, 8513–8524), emphasizing the impact of intramolecularly
tethered ArOH groups, and (b) recent advances in understanding the
mechanism of action of the tyrosinase (Ty) enzyme.