Influence of Copper Coordination Spheres on Nitrous Oxide Reductase (N2Or) Activity of a Mixed-Valent Copper Complex Containing a {Cu2S} Core

A new mixed-valent dicopper complex [5] was generated from ligand exchange by dissolving a bis(CH3CN) precursor [3] in acetone. Introduction of a water molecule in place of an acetonitrile ligand was evidenced by base titration and the presence of a remaining coordinated CH3CN by IR, F-19 NMR, and theoretical methods. The proposed structure (CH3CN-Cu-(SR)-Cu-OH2) was successfully DFT-optimized and the calculated parameters are in agreement with the experimental data. [5] has a unique temperature-dependence EPR behavior, with a localized valence from 10 to 120 K that undergoes delocalized at room temperature. The electrochemical signatures are in the line of the other aquo parent [2] and sensibly different from the rest of the series. Similar to the case of [2], [5] was finally capable of single turnover N2O reduction at room temperature. N-2 was detected by GC-MS, and the redox character was confirmed by EPR and ESI-MS. Kinetic data indicate a reaction rate order close to 1 and a rate 10 times faster compared to [2]. [5] is thus the second example of that kind and highlights not only the main role of the Cu-OH2 motif, but also that the adjacent Cu-X partner (X = OTf (-) in [2] and CH3CN in [5]) is a new actor in the casting to establish structure/activity correlations.