Cleavage of the C-S bond with the formation of a binuclear copper complex with 2-thiolato-3-phenyl-5-(pyridine-2-ylmethylene)-3,5-dihydro-4H-imidazole-4-one. A new mimic of the active site of N2O reductase.

The treatment of the ligands with copper(II) chloride dihydrate led to the formation of a binuclear copper complex with a [Cu(+1.5)Cu(+1.5)] redox state as a result of C-S bond cleavage in the course of the reaction. This complex catalyses the electrochemical reduction of nitrous oxide and triphenyl phosphine oxidation under N2O action.