Mixed ligand Cu(II) amino acid complexes containing 2,2′-bipyridyl. Cyclic voltammetric studies of the reduction in aqueous media

The reduction of the title ternary complexes was studied by cyclic voltammetry in aqueous media. Reversible one-electron reduction was involved generating an intermediate Cu(I) species which subsequently dissociated to Cu⁰ at the mercury electrode. The intermediate ternary Cu(I) amino acid complexes were found to be less unstable than the corresponding Cu(I) binary complexes. The pH-dependence of these ternary complexes was also studied.