A Biomimetic Iron Catalyst for the Epoxidation of Olefins with Molecular Oxygen at Room Temperature

It's no sacrifice: A bio-inspired iron system, in which a β-keto ester serves as a sacrificial cosubstrate, readily epoxidizes olefins under ambient conditions with air. Aromatic olefins are oxidized in high yields with excellent chemoselectivity. Mechanistic investigations point out substantial differences to well-known radical-based autoxidations.