Fe-N-C Artificial Enzyme: Activation of Oxygen for Dehydrogenation and Monoxygenation of Organic Substrates under Mild Condition and Cancer Therapeutic Application

Developing highly efficient artificial enzymes that directly employ O₂ as terminal oxidant has long been pursued but has rarely achieved yet. We report Fe-N-C has unusual enzyme-like activity in both dehydrogenation and monoxygenation of organic substrates with ~100% selectivity by direct using O₂.