Organoiridium-quinone conjugates for facile hydrogen peroxide generation

An organoiridium complex bearing a quinone moiety was shown to significantly accelerate the rate of H 2 O 2 formation in the presence of air and sodium formate at low catalyst concentrations. This reaction is proposed to operate through a synergistic mechanism involving transfer hydrogenation catalysis and radical chemistry. Our bifunctional iridium complex could potentially be used in anti-cancer chemotherapy or other applications requiring rapid generation of reactive oxygen species. Tethered iridium-quinone catalyst in the presence of air and sodium formate generates H 2 O 2 more rapidly than iridium and quinone mixtures at low catalyst concentration.