A study of the mechanism and kinetics of cyclooctene epoxidation catalyzed by iron(III) tetrakispentafluorophenyl porphyrin.

A study has been conducted of the mechanism and kinetics of cyclooctene epoxidation by hydrogen peroxide catalyzed by iron(III) tetrakispentafluorophenyl [F(20)TPPFe(III)] porphyrin. The formation of cyclooctene oxide, the only product, was determined by gas chromatography, and the consumption of hydrogen peroxide was determined by (1)H NMR. UV-visible spectroscopy was used to identify the state of the porphyrin as a function of solvent composition and reaction conditions and to follow the kinetics of porphyrin degradation. F(20)TPPFe(III) was found to be inactive in the chloride-ligated form, but became active when the chloride ligand was replaced by a methoxide ligand. The methoxide-ligated form of F(20)TPPFe(III) reacts with hydrogen peroxide to form an iron(III) hydroperoxide species, which then undergoes both heterolytic and homolytic cleavage to form iron(IV) pi-radical cations and iron(IV) oxo species, respectively. The iron(IV) pi-radical cations are responsible for the epoxidation of cyclooctene, whereas the iron(IV) oxo species are responsible for hydrogen peroxide decomposition. The kinetics of cyclooctene epoxidation and hydrogen peroxide decomposition developed from the proposed mechanism describe the experimentally observed kinetics accurately. The rate parameters derived from a fit of the model to the experimental data are consistent with previous estimates of the magnitude of these parameters.