Magnesium(ii)-bicarbonate complexes catalyze the Fenton-like reaction under nearly neutral conditions: kinetics and mechanism

The results reported herein indicate that solutions containing Mg(H₂O)₆²⁺ + HCO₃⁻ + H₂O₂ can replace Fe(H₂O)₆²⁺ + H₂O₂, or the use of other transition metal complexes, as catalysts of the Fenton-like processes. The reactive oxidizing intermediate formed in this system is the CO₃˙⁻ anion radical. Detailed experimental and density functional theory (DFT) calculations point out that CO₃˙⁻ is formed via the decomposition of [(H₂O)₄Mg^II(CO₃²⁻)(H₂O₂)]. Implications of this new and green, advanced oxidation process are briefly discussed.