Structure of the key species in the enzymatic oxidation of methane to methanol

Time-resolved resonance Raman vibrational spectroscopy was used to study the mechanism of soluble methane monooxygenase and obtain structural information on the key reaction cycle intermediate, compound Q, which contains a unique dinuclear FeIV cluster that breaks the strong C-H bond of methane and inserts an oxygen atom (from O2) to form methanol.