Nonheme mononuclear hydroxoiron(III) species are important intermediates in biological oxidations, but well-characterized examples of synthetic complexes are scarce due to their instability or tendency to form μ-oxodiiron(III) complexes, which are the thermodynamic sink for such chemistry. Herein, we report the successful stabilization and characterization of a mononuclear hydroxoiron(III) complex, [FeIII(OH)(TMC-py)]2+ (3; TMC-py = 1-(pyridyl-2′-methyl)-4,8,11-trimethyl-1,4,8,11-tetrazacyclotetradecane), which is directly generated from the reaction of [FeIV(O)(TMC-py)]2+ (2) with 1,4-cyclohexadiene at −40 °C by H-atom abstraction. Complex 3 exhibits a UV spectrum with a λmax at 335 nm (ε ≈ 3500 M–1 cm–1) and a molecular ion in its electrospray ionization mass spectrum at m/z 555 with an isotope distribution pattern consistent with its formulation. Electron paramagnetic resonance and Mössbauer spectroscopy show 3 to be a high-spin Fe(III) center that is formed in 85% yield. Extended X-ray absorption fine structure analysis reveals an Fe–OH bond distance of 1.84 Å, which is also found in [(TMC-py)FeIII–O–CrIII(OTf)3]+ (4) obtained from the reaction of 2 with Cr(OTf)2. The S = 5/2 spin ground state and the 1.84 Å Fe–OH bond distance are supported computationally. Complex 3 reacts with 1-hydroxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine (TEMPOH) at −40 °C with a second-order rate constant of 7.1 M–1 s–1 and an OH/OD kinetic isotope effect value of 6. On the basis of density functional theory calculations, the reaction between 3 and TEMPOH is classified as a proton-coupled electron transfer as opposed to a hydrogen-atom transfer.

Mechanisms have been proposed for α-KG-dependent non-heme iron enzyme catalyzed oxygen atom insertion into an olefinic moiety in various natural products, but they have not been examined in detail. Using a combination of methods including transient kinetics, Mössbauer spectroscopy, and mass spectrometry, we demonstrate that AsqJ-catalyzed (−)-4′-methoxycyclopenin formation uses a high-spin Fe(IV)-oxo intermediate to carry out epoxidation. Furthermore, product analysis on 16O/18O isotope incorporation from the reactions using the native substrate, 4′-methoxydehydrocyclopeptin, and a mechanistic probe, dehydrocyclopeptin, reveals evidence supporting oxo↔hydroxo tautomerism of the Fe(IV)-oxo species in the non-heme iron enzyme catalysis.

The ultimate step in chloramphenicol (CAM) biosynthesis is a six-electron oxidation of an aryl-amine precursor (NH2-CAM) to the aryl-nitro group of CAM catalyzed by the non-heme diiron cluster-containing oxygenase CmlI. Upon exposure of the diferrous cluster to O2, CmlI forms a long-lived peroxo intermediate, P, which reacts with NH2-CAM to form CAM. Since P is capable of at most a two-electron oxidation, the overall reaction must occur in several steps. It is unknown whether P is the oxidant in each step or whether another oxidizing species participates in the reaction. Mass spectrometry product analysis of reactions under 18O2 show that both oxygen atoms in the nitro function of CAM derive from O2. However, when the single-turnover reaction between 18O2-P and NH2-CAM is carried out in an 16O2 atmosphere, CAM nitro groups contain both 18O and 16O, suggesting that P can be reformed during the reaction sequence. Such reformation would require reduction by a pathway intermediate, shown here to be NH(OH)-CAM. Accordingly, the aerobic reaction of NH(OH)-CAM with diferric CmlI yields P and then CAM without an external reductant. A catalytic cycle is proposed in which NH2-CAM reacts with P to form NH(OH)-CAM and diferric CmlI. Then the NH(OH)-CAM rereduces the enzyme diiron cluster, allowing P to reform upon O2 binding, while itself being oxidized to NO-CAM. Finally, the reformed P oxidizes NO-CAM to CAM with incorporation of a second O2-derived oxygen atom. The complete six-electron oxidation requires only two exogenous electrons and could occur in one active site.

The non-heme iron halogenases CytC3 and SyrB2 catalyze C–H bond halogenation in the biosynthesis of some natural products via S = 2 oxoiron(IV)–halide intermediates. These oxidants abstract a hydrogen atom from a substrate C–H bond to generate an alkyl radical that reacts with the bound halide to form a C–X bond chemoselectively. The origin of this selectivity has been explored in biological systems but has not yet been investigated with synthetic models. Here we report the characterization of S = 2 [FeIV(O)(TQA)(Cl/Br)]+ (TQA = tris(quinolyl-2-methyl)amine) complexes that can preferentially halogenate cyclohexane. These are the first synthetic oxoiron(IV)–halide complexes that serve as spectroscopic and functional models for the halogenase intermediates. Interestingly, the nascent substrate radicals generated by these synthetic complexes are not as short-lived as those obtained from heme-based oxidants and can be intercepted by O2 to prevent halogenation, supporting an emerging notion that rapid rebound may not necessarily occur in non-heme oxoiron(IV) oxidations.

We report herein the first example of an oxoiron(IV) complex of an ethylene-bridged dialkylcyclam ligand, [FeIV(O)(Me2EBC)(NCMe)]2+ (2; Me2EBC = 4,11-dimethyl-1,4,8,11-tetraazabicyclo[6.6.2]hexadecane). Complex 2 has been characterized by UV–vis, 1H NMR, resonance Raman, Mössbauer, and X-ray absorption spectroscopy as well as electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, and its properties have been compared with those of the closely related [FeIV(O)(TMC)(NCMe)]2+ (3; TMC = 1,4,8,11-tetramethyl-1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane), the intensively studied prototypical oxoiron(IV) complex of the macrocyclic tetramethylcyclam ligand. Me2EBC has an N4 donor set nearly identical with that of TMC but possesses an ethylene bridge in place of the 1- and 8-methyl groups of TMC. As a consequence, Me2EBC is forced to deviate from the trans-I configuration typically found for FeIV(O)(TMC) complexes and instead adopts a folded cis-V stereochemistry that requires the MeCN ligand to coordinate cis to the FeIV═O unit in 2 rather than in the trans arrangement found in 3. However, switching from the trans geometry of 3 to the cis geometry of 2 did not significantly affect their ground-state electronic structures, although a decrease in ν(Fe═O) was observed for 2. Remarkably, despite having comparable FeIV/III reduction potentials, 2 was found to be significantly more reactive than 3 in both oxygen-atom-transfer (OAT) and hydrogen-atom-transfer (HAT) reactions. A careful analysis of density functional theory calculations on the HAT reactivity of 2 and 3 revealed the root cause to be the higher oxyl character of 2, leading to a stronger O---H bond specifically in the quintet transition state.