ortho-Hydroxylation of aromatic compounds by non-heme Fe complexes has been extensively studied in recent years by several research groups. The nature of the proposed oxidant varies from Fe(III)-OOH to high-valent Fe(IV)═O and Fe(V)═O species, and no definitive consensus has emerged. In this comprehensive study, we have investigated the ortho-hydroxylation of aromatic compounds by an iron complex using hybrid density functional theory incorporating dispersion effects. Three different oxidants, Fe(III)-OOH, Fe(IV)═O, and Fe(V)═O, and two different pathways, H-abstraction and electrophilic attack, have been considered to test the oxidative ability of different oxidants and to underpin the exact mechanism of this regiospecific reaction. By mapping the potential energy surface of each oxidant, our calculations categorize Fe(III)-OOH as a sluggish oxidant, as both proximal and distal oxygen atoms of this species have prohibitively high barriers to carry out the aromatic hydroxylation. This is in agreement to the experimental observation where Fe(III)-OOH is found not to directly attack the aromatic ring. A novel mechanism for the explicit generation of non-heme Fe(IV)═O and Fe(V)═O from isomeric forms of Fe(III)-OOH has been proposed where the O···O bond is found to cleave via homolytic (Fe(IV)═O) or heterolytic (Fe(V)═O) fashion exclusively. Apart from having favorable formation energies, the Fe(V)═O species also has a lower barrier height compared to the corresponding Fe(IV)═O species for the aromatic ortho-hydroxylation reaction. The transient Fe(V)═O prefers electrophilic attack on the benzene ring rather than the usual aromatic C-H activation step. A large thermodynamic drive for the formation of a radical intermediate is encountered in the mechanistic scene, and this intermediate substantially diminishes the energy barrier required for C-H activation by the Fe(V)═O species. Further spin density distribution and the frontier orbitals of the computed species suggest that the Fe(IV)═O species has a substantial barrier height for this reaction, as the substrate is coordinated to the metal atoms. This coordination restricts the C-H activation step by Fe(IV)═O species to proceed via the π-type pathway, and thus the usual energy lowering due to the low-lying quintet state is not observed here.

High-valent iron-oxo species are key intermediates in C-H bond activation of several substrates including alkanes. The biomimic heme and non-heme mononuclear Fe(IV)=O complexes are very popular in this area and have been thoroughly studied over the years. These species despite possessing aggressive catalytic ability, cannot easily activate inert C-H bonds such as those of methane. In this context dinuclear complexes have gained attention, particularly μ-nitrido dinuclear iron species [(TPP)(m-CBA)Fe(IV)(μ-N)Fe(IV)(O)(TPP(˙+))](-) reported lately exhibits remarkable catalytic abilities towards substrates such as methane. Here using DFT methods, we have explored the electronic structure and complex spin-state energetics present in this species. To gain insights into the nature of bonding, we have computed the absorption, the EPR and the Mössbauer parameters and have probed the mechanism of methane oxidation by the dinuclear Fe(IV)=O species. Calculated results are in agreement with the experimental data and our calculations predict that in [(TPP)(m-CBA)Fe(IV)(μ-N)Fe(IV)(O)(TPP(˙+))](-)species, the two high-spin iron centres are antiferromagnetically coupled leading to a doublet ground state. Our calculations estimate an extremely low kinetic barrier of 26.6 kJ mol(-1) (at doublet surface) for the C-H bond activation of methane by the dinuclear Fe(IV)=O species. Besides these mechanistic studies on the methane activation reveal the unique electronic cooperativity present in this type of dinuclear complex and unravel the key question of why mononuclear analogues are unable to perform such reactions.

High-valent iron-oxo species are known for their very high reactivity, and this aspect has been studied in detail over the years. The role of axial ligands in fine-tuning the reactivity of the iron(IV)-oxo species has been particularly well studied. The corresponding role of equatorial ligands, however, has rarely been explored, and is of prime importance in the development of non-heme chemistry. Here, we have undertaken detailed DFT calculations on [(L )Fe (O)(CH CN)] (1; L =3,9,14,20-tetraaza1,6,12,17-tetraazoniapenta-cyclohexacosane-1(23),4,6(26),10,12(25),15,17(24),21-octaene) in comparison to compound II of cytochrome P450 [(porphyrin)Fe (O)(SH)] (2) to probe this aspect. The electronic structures of 1 and 2 are found to vary significantly, implying a large variation in their reactivities. In particular, the strong equatorial ligand present in 1 significantly destabilizes the quintet states as compared to species 2. To fully understand the reactivity pattern of these species, we have modelled the hydroxylation of methane by both 1 and 2. Our calculations reveal that 1 reacts via a low-lying S=1 π pathway, and that the generally available S=2 σ pathway is not energetically accessible. In addition to having a significant barrier for C-H bond activation, the -OH rebound step is also computed to have a large barrier height, leading to a marked difference in reactivity between these two species. Of particular relevance here is the observation of pure triplet-state reactivity for 1. We have also attempted to test the role of axial ligands in fine-tuning the reactivity of 1, and our results demonstrate that, in contrast to heme systems, the axial ligands in 1 do not significantly influence the reactivity. This highlights the importance of designing equatorial ligands to fine-tune reactivity of high-valent iron(IV)-oxo species.

Metal-superoxo species are ubiquitous in metalloenzymes and bioinorganic chemistry and are known for their high reactivity and their ability to activate inert CÀH bonds. The comparative oxidative abilities of M-O 2 C À species (M = Cr III , Mn III , Fe III , and Cu II ) towards CÀH bond activation reaction are presented. These superoxo species generated by oxygen activation are found to be aggressive oxidants compared to their high-valent metal-oxo counterparts generated by O···O bond cleavage. Our calculations illustrate the superior oxidative abilities of Fe III -and Mn III -superoxo species compared to the others and suggest that the reactivity may be correlated to the magnetic exchange parameter.Mononuclear metalloenzymes with coordinated oxygen at the metal center have applications in biology, industry, and the laboratory.[1] Oxygenated metal intermediates like oxo, peroxo, hydroperoxo, and superoxo species play a vital role in catalytic reactions such as hydrogenation, halogenation, hydroxylation, olefin epoxidation, and C À H bond activation.[2] In the last decade many high-valent metal-oxygen species have been studied to understand the fundamental structural, functional, and mechanistic aspects of their enzymes and their counterparts. [2a,d, 3] Apart from the metaloxo species, oxidation of CÀH bonds by several superoxometal complexes is also reported.[4] Unlike the metal-oxo species, the reactivity of M-O 2 C À species and their competing oxidative abilities are relatively less explored, although nature utilizes both species to carry out efficient catalysis. [5] Among other factors, the nature of the transition metals in M-O 2 C À species is also important, as it determines the electronic structure and the reactivity of these species. Over the years, the synthesis, structure, and reactivity of superoxo species containing copper, [6] iron, [5,7] and manganese [8] have been reported along with other metals.[9] An important addition to this class is the report of the crystal structure of the end-on Cr-O 2 C À species and kinetic studies to probe its ability to perform C À H bond activation in hydrocarbons. [10] Metal-superoxo species are generally transient in nature and are generated at the first step of the oxygen activation both in enzyme catalysis and in biomimetic chemistry. [7c, 10b] As these species are key intermediates in iron and copper catalysis, it suggests that the M-O 2 C À species perhaps play a larger role as an oxidant in enzyme catalysis. [6,11] In the M-O 2 C À species the unpaired electrons on the metal and the radical center are strongly coupled and the electronic configuration of the metal ions dictates the nature of the magnetic coupling (J) and this may in turn correlate to the CÀH bond activation. Here we have undertaken a detailed theoretical study to specifically address the following questions 1) probing the mechanism of C À H bond activation by Cr-O 2 C À and its comparative oxidative ability to high-valent metal-oxo species, 2) establishing the comparative oxidativ...