Transition metal dioxygen complex

Dioxygen complexes are coordination compounds that contain O₂ as a ligand. The study of these compounds is inspired by oxygen-carrying proteins such as myoglobin, hemoglobin, hemerythrin, and hemocyanin. Several transition metals form complexes with O₂, and many of these complexes form reversibly. The binding of O₂ is the first step in many important phenomena, such as cellular respiration, corrosion, and industrial chemistry. The first synthetic oxygen complex was demonstrated in 1938 with cobalt(II) complex reversibly bound O₂.