Aerial Oxidation of Phenol/Catechol in the Presence of Catalytic Amounts of [(Cl)(2)Mn(RCOOET)], RCOOET= Ethyl-5-Methyl-1-(((6-Methyl-3-Nitropyridin-2-yl)Amino)Methyl)-1H-Pyrazo le-3-Carboxylate

In this work, we report on the catalytic activity of a manganese complex [(Cl)(2)Mn(RCOOET)], where RCOOET is ethyl-5-methyl-1-(((6-methyl-3-nitropyridin-2-yl)amino)methyl)-1H-pyrazole-3-carboxylate, in the oxidation of phenol or catechol by atmospheric oxygen to form o-quinone. The [(Cl)(2)Mn(RCOOET)] catalyzes the oxidation of catechol at a rate of 3.74 mu mol L-1 min(-1) in tetrahydrofuran (THF), in a similar manner to catecholase or tyrosinase.