Designing a Redox Noninnocent Phenalenyl-Based Copper(II) Complex: An Autotandem Catalyst for the Selective Oxidation of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs).

A square-planar [CuL] complex , based on the redox-active phenalenyl unit LH = 9,9'-(ethane-1,2-diylbis(azanediyl))bis(1-phenalen-1-one), is prepared and structurally characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. Complex crystallizes at room temperature with the 1 space group. The molecular structure of reveals the presence of intriguing C-H···Cu intermolecular anagostic interactions of the order ∼2.7715 Å. Utilizing the presence of anagostic interactions and the free nonbonding molecular orbitals (NBMOs) of the closed-shell phenalenyl unit in , the oxidation reactions of some industrially important polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the presence of the [CuL] complex under very mild conditions have been reported. The direct conversion of anthracene-9-carbaldehyde to 9,10-anthraquinone in one step concludes that the catalyst shows dual activity in the chemical transformations. This also includes the first report of a "single-step" catalytic transformation of pyrene-1-carbaldehyde to the synthetically difficult pyren-4-ol, a precursor for the synthesis of several novel fluorescent probes for cell imaging.