An iron(III)-monoamidate complex catalyst for selective hydroxylation of alkane C-H bonds with hydrogen peroxide.

Selective oxidation: the success of the title reaction is caused by the strong electron donation from the amidate moiety of the dpaq ligand to the iron center (dpaq=2-[bis(pyridin-2-ylmethyl)]amino-N-quinolin-8-yl-acetamidate). This process facilitates the O-O bond heterolysis of the intermediate Fe(III)OOH species to generate a selective oxidant without forming highly reactive hydroxyl radicals.