The stereochemistry of the copper(II) ion in the solid-state - some recent perspectives linking the Jahn-Teller effect, vibronic coupling, structure correlation analysis, structural pathways and comparative X-ray crystallography

It is now over 60 years since the Jahn-Teller theorem was put forward and shown to account for the distorted stereochemistry of copper(II) complexes. Numerous accounts have been written describing the origin of the distortion. However, recent work, involving the emerging field in structural chemistry of comparative X-ray crystallography, has shown that the vibronic coupling mechanism can now be applied to low symmetry systems, suggesting that the original static stereochemistries are all connected and continuously variable. This review of copper(II) stereochemistry involving structural pathways is presented here in an attempt to describe and rationalise these variable stereochemistries. Some recent perspectives and new interpretations linking the Jahn-Teller effect (JTE), vibronic coupling, structure correlation analysis, structural pathways and comparative X-ray crystallography are reported. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.