Carbon-nitrogen bond cleavage by copper(II) complexes

N-benzoylimidazole reacts with copper(II) nitrate in the presence of different alcohols to give the benzoate of the corresponding alcohol and tetra(imidazole)copper(II) nitrate. The hydrolytic cleavage of N-benzoylimidazole in aqueous ethyleneglycol leads to the formation of imidazoliumbenzoate. Copper(II)nitrate trihydrate hydrolytically degrades N-benzoyl 3,5-dimethylpyrazole to form a copper complex in the form of an adduct having the composition cis(pz)(2)Cu(OBz)(2)center dot trans-(pz)(2)Cu(OBz)(2)H2O (where pz = 3,5-dimethylpyrazole and OBz = benzoate anion). (C) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.