Use of 2-methyl-1-phenylpropan-2-yl hydroperoxide (MPPH) as a mechanistic probe for the heterolytic versus homolytic O-O bond cleavage of tert-alkyl hydroperoxide by iron(III) porphyrin complex

The mechanism of the O-O bond cleavage of tert-alkyl hydroperoxide by iron( III) porphyrin complexes has been studied using 2-methyl-1-phenylpropan-2-y l hydroperoxide (MPPH) as a mechanistic probe; the hydroperoxide O-O bond i s cleaved both heterolytically and homolytically and partitioning between t he two pathways significantly depends on the reaction conditions such as th e pH of the reaction solutions and the nature of porphyrin and axial ligand s.