Copper(I) Acetate: A Structurally Simple but Highly Efficient Dinuclear Catalyst for Copper-Catalyzed Azide-Alkyne Cycloaddition

In this article, the structurally well-defined dinuclear complex copper(I) acetate was studied in detail and was developed as a highly practical and efficient catalyst for the copper(I)-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition. The "bare" phenylethynylcopper(I) (i.e., with no exogeneous ligands) was isolated as an intermediate, which can be converted into an active catalytic species by treatment with acetic acid (in situ produced in the reaction) to efficiently catalyze the azide-alkyne cycloaddition under mild conditions.