Biologically Inspired C−H and C=C Oxidations with Hydrogen Peroxide Catalyzed by Iron Coordination Complexes

The development of catalysts for the selective oxidation of readily available hydrocarbons or organic precursors into oxygenated products is a long‐standing goal in organic synthesis. In the last decade, some iron coordination complexes have shown the potential to fit this role. These catalysts can mimic the O−O activation mode of far more sophisticated iron oxygenase enzymes, generating powerful yet selective oxidants. In this review, we report state‐of‐the‐art C−H and C=C oxidations catalyzed by non‐heme iron complexes and H 2 O 2 as the oxidant. Finally, we briefly describe some novel oxidative reactivity and the perspectives of this chemistry.