Cerium(IV)-Driven Water Oxidation Catalyzed by a Manganese(V)–Nitrido Complex†

The study of manganese complexes as water-oxidation catalysts (WOCs) is of great interest because they can serve as models for the oxygen-evolving complex of photosystem II. In most of the reported Mn-based WOCs, manganese exists in the oxidation states III or IV, and the catalysts generally give low turnovers, especially with one-electron oxidants such as CeIV. Now, a different class of Mn-based catalysts, namely manganese(V)–nitrido complexes, were explored. The complex [MnV(N)(CN)4]2− turned out to be an active homogeneous WOC using (NH4)2[Ce(NO3)6] as the terminal oxidant, with a turnover number of higher than 180 and a maximum turnover frequency of 6 min−1. The study suggests that active WOCs may be constructed based on the MnV(N) platform.