The reaction of [Fe2(-OH)2(6-Me3-TPA)2] 2؉ (1) [6-Me3-TPA, Tris(6-methyl-2-pyridylmethyl)amine] with O2 in CH2Cl2 at ؊80°C gives rise to two new intermediates, 2 and 3, before the formation of previously characterized [Fe2(O)(O2)(6-Me3-TPA)2] 2؉ (4) that allow the oxygenation reaction to be monitored one electron-transfer step at a time. Raman evidence assigns 2 and 3 as a diiron-superoxo species and a diiron-peroxo species, respectively. Intermediate 2 exhibits its (O-O) at 1,310 cm ؊1 with a ؊71-cm ؊1 18 O isotope shift. A doublet peak pattern for the 16 O 18 O isotopomer of 2 in mixedisotope Raman experiments strongly suggests that the superoxide ligand of 2 is bound end-on. This first example of a nonheme iron-superoxo intermediate exhibits the highest frequency (O-O) yet observed for a biomimetic metal-dioxygen adduct. The bound superoxide of 2, unlike the bound peroxide of 4, is readily reduced by 2,4-di-tert-butylphenol via a proton-coupled electron-transfer mechanism, emphasizing that metal-superoxo species may serve as oxidants in oxygen activation mechanisms of metalloenzymes. The discovery of intermediates 2 and 3 allows us to dissect the initial steps of dioxygen binding at a diiron center leading to its activation for substrate oxidation.nonheme diiron enzymes ͉ oxygen activation ͉ superoxo intermediate T he first step in the oxygen activation mechanisms of metalloenzymes is typically the binding of dioxygen, resulting in electron transfer from metal to O 2 to form a metal-superoxo species (1-5). This conversion is best exemplified by heme proteins and synthetic iron porphyrin complexes where there is strong crystallographic and spectroscopic evidence for an Fe III -( 1 -O 2•Ϫ ) formulation (6, 7). Crystallographic evidence for an analogous formulation has also recently been reported for a copper enzyme peptidylglycine ␣-hydroxylating monooxygenase (PHM) (8). Furthermore, synthetic copper(I) and nickel(I) complexes react with O 2 to give rise to copper and nickel superoxo species (9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16) 2 was prepared by using the same procedure in the presence of 10 eq of D 2 O. All manipulations with complex 1 and solutions thereof were carried out under inert atmosphere by using a glovebox filled with nitrogen. Dichloromethane was distilled from CaH 2 under nitrogen. 2,4-di-tert-butylphenol (DTBP) was purchased from Aldrich and used as received. Saturated solutions of O 2 in CH 2 Cl 2 for the kinetic studies were prepared by bubbling the dried O 2 gas through the solvent for 10 min at room temperature. The concentration of O 2 in this saturated solution was accepted to be as reported in the literature (25) Sample Preparation. For UV-visible experiments, an anaerobic solution of 1⅐(OTf) 2 (3.3 mg) in dry CH 2 Cl 2 (3 ml) was introduced into a 1-cm-path-length cuvette and then cooled to 193 K in a Unisoku cryogenic cell holder attached to a HewlettPackard 8453A diode array spectrophotometer. O 2 gas was bubbled through the solution for 5 min, and the formation of 2 was complete within 1 h....