Selective catalytic 2e--oxidation of organic substrates by an FeIIcomplex having an N-heterocyclic carbene ligand in water

An Fe(II)complex,1, having a pentadentate ligand with an NHC moiety catalyzes substrate oxidation to afford 2e(-)-oxidized products with high selectivity by suppression of overoxidation in water. A Bell-Evance-Polanyi plot for the substrate oxidation catalyzed by1exhibited an inflection point around 86 kcal mol(-1), indicating strong C-H abstraction ability of the reactive species derived from1.