title: Homolytic cleavage of the O-Cu(ii) bond: XAFS and EPR spectroscopy evidence for one electron reduction of Cu(ii) to Cu(i).
abstract: The investigation into the active copper(i) catalysts from copper(ii) precursors has become a fundamental and important task in copper catalysis. In this work, we demonstrate that the (t)BuO(-) anion serves not only as a base but also as a mediator to promote the reduction of Cu(ii) to Cu(i) in copper catalysis. XAFS and EPR spectroscopy evidence the [Cu(O(t)Bu)3](-) ate complex as the key intermediate which undergoes homolytic-cleavage of the O-Cu(ii) bond generating [Cu(O(t)Bu)2](-) ate complex.
authors.affiliation: College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, the Institute for Advanced Studies, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei 430072, People's Republic of China. aiwenlei@whu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yi
authors.forename: Guanghui
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xin
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.forename: Jeffrey T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: Arthur J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Kropf
authors.forename: Emilio E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Bunel
authors.forename: Xiaotian
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Qi
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lan
authors.forename: Jyh-Fu
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Aiwen
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lei
mesh_terms: D003300:Copper / Q000737:chemistry*; D004578:Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy; D004579:Electron Transport; D010100:Oxygen / Q000737:chemistry*; D056928:X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy
chemical_list: D003300:Copper; D010100:Oxygen