Flexible pincer backbone revisited: CuSNS complexes as efficient catalysts in paraffin oxidation

Abstract

New Cu(II) complexes containing a set of tridentate hybrid SNS ligands were synthesised and fully characterised by IR, HRMS, elemental analysis and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The complexes with the general formula Cu[bis(Rthioethyl)phenylamine]Cl2 (1); [R = methyl (a); ethyl (b); butyl (c); cyclohexyl (d) and t-butyl (e)] exhibited five-coordinate trigonal bipyramidal geometry around each Cu(II) centre in the solid-state with the S-donor atoms occupying the axial positions. However, complex 1b crystallised as a dimer bridged through a cuprate anion denoted as [1b(μ-CuCl4)1b]. Their application as catalysts in the oxidation of n-octane with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) as an oxidant gave high substrate conversions to C-8 oxygenate products, mainly octanols, after reduction with PPh3. Notably, complex 1d produced the highest yield of 57% in 1 h reaction time at a catalyst concentration of 1 mol%. In general, high turnover numbers (2830–3180) were recorded for the 1/H2O2 catalytic systems with substantially high combined selectivity of 22–27% to 1-octanol and octanoic acid, which are the more desired products of n-octane oxidation resulting from its terminal carbon (C(1)) activation. The high activity of the catalysts is attributed to metal–ligand cooperative catalysis involving CuII-OOH intermediates as the active species modulated by the tridentate SNS ligands. In comparison with related complexes bearing N-donor atoms, the excellent catalytic performance of these series of CuSNS complexes highlights the critical role of the phenylamine N-donor atom.