Oxidation Reactions with Bioinspired Mononuclear Non-Heme Metal-Oxo Complexes

The selective functionalization of strong C-H bonds and the oxidation of water by cheap and nontoxic metals are some of the key targets of chemical research today. It has been proposed that high-valent iron-, manganese-, and copper-oxo cores are involved as reactive intermediates in important oxidation reactions performed by biological systems, thus making them attractive targets for biomimetic synthetic studies. The generation and characterization of metal-oxo model complexes of iron, manganese, and copper together with detailed reactivity studies can help in understanding how the steric and electronic properties of the metal centers modulate the reactivity of the metalloenzymes. This Review provides a focused overview of the advances in the chemistry of biomimetic high-valent metal-oxo complexes from the last 5-10 years that can be related to our understanding of biological systems.