A diiron complex mediates an intramolecular aliphatic hydroxylation by various oxygen donors.

In the presence of hydrogen peroxide, m-chloroperbenzoic acid or an iodosyl arene, the tert-butyl group of the ligand H(L-t-Bu) in the complex [Fe2(L-t-Bu)(mpdp)]2+ is quantitatively hydroxylated to a butanolate terminally bound to one iron in [Fe2(L-t-Bu - H + O)(mpdp)]2+, and mass spectrometry experiments indicate that the reaction proceeds according to different mechanisms.