A new tridentate ligand, PYAN, is employed to investigate solventinfluences for dioxygen reactivity with [Cu(PYAN)(MeCN)]B(C
6F
5)
4(
1). Stopped-flow kinetic studies confirm that the adducts [{Cu
II(PYAN)}
2(O
2)][B(C
6F
5)
4]
2 (
2Peroxo) and [{Cu
III(PYAN)}
2(O)
2][B(C
6F
5)
4]
2(
2Oxo) are in rapid equilibrium. Thermodynamic parameters for theequilibrium between
2Peroxo and
2Oxo are as follows: THF,
H~ -15.7 kJ/mol,
S ~ -83 J/K·mol; acetone,
H ~ -15.8kJ/mol,
S ~ -76 J/K·mol. UV-visible absorption and resonanceRaman spectroscopic signatures demonstrate that the equilibriumis highly solvent dependent; the mixture is mostly
2Peroxo inCH
2Cl
2, but there are significantly increasing quantities of
2Oxo alongthe series methylene chloride
diethyl ether
acetone
tetrahydrofuran (THF). Copper(II)-N
eq stretches (239, 243, 244,and 246 cm
-1 in CH
2Cl
2, Et
2O, acetone, and THF, respectively)are identified for
2Peroxo, but they are not seen in
2Oxo, revealingfor the first time direct evidence for solvent coordination in themore open
2Peroxo structure.