Ring-opening with one dioxygen molecule in the coupled oxidation of iron tetraarylporphyrins

A dioxygen molecule was activated on the iron complex of tetraarylporphyrins and both oxygen atoms of the O2 molecule were added to cleave the macrocycle to yield a linear tetrapyrrole intermediate, from which two linear tetrapyrrole products, biladienone and bilindione, are formed, as revealed by isotope labeling experiments with oxygen-18.