HOT Article: Copper complexes as atom radical addition catalysts

24 Mar 2011

In this Dalton Transactions Hot article by William T. Eckenhoff and Tomislav Pintauer, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, USA, copper(II) complexes with the Me₆TREN ligand and AIBN were used as atom transfer radical addition catalysts.

Atom transfer radical addition is a way of making carbon-carbon bonds using a transition metal catalyst. This method can require a large ratio of catalyst to get a good yield, and can be difficult to recycle, so new ways to optimise this system are crucial.

Here the authors use a free radical diazo initiator (AIBN) to regenerate the catalyst in situ, and use the Me₆TREN ligand to reduce the amount of copper in a higher oxidation state, which would otherwise deactivate the catalyst. This makes for a much more efficient reaction, and here this system was used to catalyze the addition of CCl₄, CHCl₃, CBr₄, and CHBr₃ to a series of alkenes.

Read the full article to find out more about this method for controlled radical addition…