Two iron(Ⅱ) complexes [Fe(tpdoen)](FeCl4)Cl (2, tpdoen=N,N-bis(2-pyridylmethoxyethyl)-N-(2-pyridylmethyl)amine) and [Fe(tpdoen)](ClO4)2 (3) with an N4O2 ligand containing two potentially π-coordinate oxygen atoms were synthesized as functional models of non-heme iron oxygenases. The X-ray crystal structure analysis corroborated that complex 3 possesses a significantly distorted six-coordinate pseudooctahedral configuration, in which all six heteroatoms (N4O2) coordinate to the iron center. The catalytic property of complex 3 for alkane oxidation were explored using H2O2, TBHP and mCPBA as oxidants in the presence of excess substrates under mild conditions. When cyclohexane oxidation process was monitored by UV-Vis spectra using H2O2 as oxidant at 0 ℃, a short-life band appeared at ca. 550 nm, which is attributed to the in-situ Fe(Ⅲ)-OOH species. CCDC: 607630.
