CuAAC Click Reactions in the Gas Phase: Unveiling the Reactivity of Bis‐Copper Intermediates
Résumé
Abstract Copper‐catalysed azide alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) has been considered a breakthrough transformation over the last 15 years. Its debated mechanism arouses continuously growing interest. By means of a mass spectrometer modified ad hoc , the entire catalytic cycle of CuAAC reaction has been investigated in the gas phase. Ion‐molecule reactions were performed inside the mass spectrometer to reproduce step‐by‐step, at a molecular level, the complete catalytic cycle of the click reaction. We successfully challenged the reactivity of elusive mono‐ and bis‐copper intermediates by ion‐molecule reactions leading to the production of mass‐characterized triazole products, paving the way for detailed energetic studies to be performed in the gas phase. The structures of the relevant species, calculated at a DFT level, helped rationalise our experimental results.