Bimetallic oxidation catalysts. Oxygen insertion into an aryl–hydrogen bond of a binuclear copper(I) complex

Abstract
The binuclear copper(I) complex of 1,3-bis[N-(2-pyridylethyl)formimidoyl]benzene reacts with molecular oxygen to give a phenoxy- and hydroxy-bridged binuclear copper(II) complex; the structures of both complexes have been determined by X-ray crystallography.