Mononuclear Cu-O2 complexes: geometries, spectroscopic properties, electronic structures, and reactivity.

Using interwoven experimental and theoretical methods, detailed studies of several structurally defined 1:1 Cu-O 2 complexes have provided important fundamental chemical information useful for understanding the nature of intermediates involved in aerobic oxidations in synthetic and enzymatic copper-mediated catalysis. In particular, these studies have shed new light on the factors that influence the mode of O 2 coordination (end-on vs side-on) and the electronic structure, which can vary between Cu(II)-superoxo and Cu(III)-peroxo extremes.