Selective oxidation reactions are of crucial importance to the chemical industry. However, many current methods are not sustainable, often relying on expensive noble metal catalysts, toxic oxidants, and harsh reaction conditions. In contrast, nature demonstrates the possibility of conducting these reactions using copper proteins and dioxygen as the oxidant under mild conditions. Inspired by the functionality of copper proteins, this work focuses on the synthesis of bioinspired copper model complexes and investigates the influence of the first and second coordination sphere on the stability and reactivity with dioxygen.
