Mimicking sMMOH chemistry: trapping the Sc ³⁺ -bound nonheme Fe ^III –O–O–Fe ^III adduct prior to its conversion into an Fe ^IV ₂ (μ-O) ₂ core

Di-iron systems that activate O₂ to form high-valent, oxo-bridged Fe^IV ₂ or Fe^IIIFe^IV products are of great interest to bio-inorganic chemists due to their relevance to the chemistry of soluble methane mono-oxygenase (sMMOH), which incorporates both atoms of O₂ gas into a diiron(iv) complex with an Fe₂O₂ diamond core. In this study, the [Fe^III ₂(Me₃NTB)₂(μ-O)(μ-O ₂)]²⁺ adduct (Me₃NTB = tris((1-methyl-1<i>H</i>-benzo[<i>d</i>]imidazole-2-yl)methyl)amine) reacts with two Sc³⁺ to break the O-O bond that in turn forms the target Fe^IV(μ-O)₂Fe^IV product. This study provides the first evidence that a Lewis acid can interact directly with a diferric-peroxo complex to initiate O-O bond cleavage, as evidenced <i>via</i> vibrational and X-ray absorption spectroscopy.