Thiol-functionalized cobalt porphyrins were used as a model system for investigating catalytic activity in homogeneous and heterogeneous oxidation catalysis. Self-assembled monolayers of thiol-functionallized cobalt porphyrins were prepared on a gold surface and served as heterogeneous catalysts. These immobilized molecules prevented the strong inactivation observed for their homogeneous congener. As a result, the turnover number per molecule in heterogeneous catalysis was at least 100 times higher than that of the corresponding homogeneous catalyst. It is atypical for a heterogenized catalyst to outperform its homogeneous congener. The properties of the molecular layers were characterized on the molecular level by means of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). The results demonstrate that the performance of these biomimetic catalysts can be dramatically improved if the catalyst arrangement can be controlled on the molecular level. (c) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.