O‐Insertion into Nonactivated CH Bonds: The first observation of O₂ cleavage by a P‐450 enzyme model in the presence of a thiolate ligand

On reaction with ‘O’‐donors or O 2 , the synthetic P‐450 analogue 2 undergoes O‐insertion at a nonactivated CH bond of the covalently bound substrate. The mechanism of O‐insertion with O 2 most likely involves homolytic cleavage of the OO bond followed by O‐insertion via radical recombination.