Molecular iron complexes as catalysts for selective C-H bond oxygenation reactions.

The selective oxygenation of C-H bonds is a promising and interesting task for both academia and chemical industry. Inspired by the efficiency and selectivity of naturally occurring enzymes, iron heme and nonheme complexes have proven to be valuable candidates for the development of environmentally friendly catalysts as alternative to traditional systems. This feature article summarises developments of the last decade regarding oxygenation reactions of aliphatic and aromatic substrates with various oxidants catalysed by molecular iron complexes. With a special focus on the catalytic performance of the systems, both the potential and the limitations as well as mechanistic aspects are discussed in some detail.