Rare and unexpected coordination to copper(II) by a tertiary amide in a macrocyclic ligand

Incorporation of a tertiary amide donor within the framework of a C(2)-symmetric analogue of 1,4,7-triazacyclononane derived from L-valine results in the isolation of a very rare example of a classical Werner copper(II) complex in which tertiary amide coordination occurs; despite the monomeric nature of the complex in the solid state, frozen solution EPR studies reveal the presence of a triplet ground state consistent with a dimeric species.