10.1021/ja00212a030
The study presented in the document investigates the biomimetic oxidation of 1,2-diols using molecular oxygen in the presence of iron-porphyrin catalysts, mimicking the function of metal-containing oxidases and oxygenases found in biological systems. The researchers utilized a catalytic system comprising an iron-porphyrin complex, 1-benzyl-3-carbamoyl-1,4-dihydropyridine (BNAH), and molecular oxygen to selectively cleave the carbon-carbon bonds of aryl-substituted ethane-1,2-diols at room temperature, producing aldehydes or ketones as the main oxidation products. The reaction rates were influenced by the steric hindrance of substituents in both the catalysts and diols, and no significant differences in reactivities were observed between the two stereoisomers (meso and dl) of the diols. The study provides insights into the mechanism of the diol cleavage reaction, which involves the initial binding of the diol to the active catalyst forming an intermediate complex, followed by a rate-determining breakdown step in the catalytic cycle. The findings have implications for understanding the activation of molecular oxygen and oxygen atom transfer to organic substrates, processes that are crucial for cytochrome P-450 in biological systems.