Dioxygen Activation and O-O Bond Formation Reactions by Manganese Corroles

Activation of dioxygen (O₂) in enzymatic and biomimetic reactions has been intensively investigated over the past several decades. More recently, O-O bond formation, which is the reverse of the O₂-activation reaction, has been the focus of current research. Herein, we report the O₂-activation and O-O bond formation reactions by manganese corrole complexes. In the O₂-activation reaction, Mn(V)-oxo and Mn(IV)-peroxo intermediates were formed when Mn(III) corroles were exposed to O₂ in the presence of base (e.g., OH^-) and hydrogen atom (H atom) donor (e.g., THF or cyclic olefins); the O₂-activation reaction did not occur in the absence of base and H atom donor. Moreover, formation of the Mn(V)-oxo and Mn(IV)-peroxo species was dependent on the amounts of base present in the reaction solution. The role of the base was proposed to lower the oxidation potential of the Mn(III) corroles, thereby facilitating the binding of O₂ and forming a Mn(IV)-superoxo species. The putative Mn(IV)-superoxo species was then converted to the corresponding Mn(IV)-hydroperoxo species by abstracting a H atom from H atom donor, followed by the O-O bond cleavage of the putative Mn(IV)-hydroperoxo species to form a Mn(V)-oxo species. We have also shown that addition of hydroxide ion to the Mn(V)-oxo species afforded the Mn(IV)-peroxo species via O-O bond formation and the resulting Mn(IV)-peroxo species reverted to the Mn(V)-oxo species upon addition of proton, indicating that the O-O bond formation and cleavage reactions between the Mn(V)-oxo and Mn(IV)-peroxo complexes are reversible. The present study reports the first example of using the same manganese complex in both O₂-activation and O-O bond formation reactions.