Anionic bridging ligands: thiocyanato- and selenocyanato-bridged pentacyanoferrate dimers and their mixed-valence properties

Synthesis, characterisation and redox properties of anti-bimetallic permethylpentalene complexes

We report a series of anti-bimetallic transition metal complexes based on the permethylpentanyl (Pn*, C8Me6) ligand: anti-(MCpR5)2Pn* (where M = Fe, Co and Ni and R = H or Me). Compounds (FeCp*)2Pn* (1), (CoCp*)2Pn* (2), (NiCp*)2Pn* (3), (CoCp)2Pn* (4) and (NiCp)2Pn* (5) were fully characterised by NMR spectroscopy, X-ray crystallography, DFT calculations and cyclic voltammetry. All anti-(MCpR5)Pn* structures have diamagnetic ground states. 1, 2 and 4 have isolated non-degenerate ground states with closed shell configurations. A study of the magnetic properties of the dinickel complexes 3 and 5 reveal Boltzmann population of a Curie triplet state in the solution. Cyclic voltammetry reveals multiple reversible or quasi-reversible redox couples for all the dinuclear complexes.

3,3-Diethyl- and 3,3-dibenzyl-1,2-diferrocenylcyclopropenes

Reactions of 2,3-diferrocenylcyclopropenone 1 with ethyl- and benzylmagnesium chlorides afford 3,3-diethyl-and 3,3-dibenzyl- 1,2-diferrocenylcyclopropenes 2 and 3, respectively, and products of nucleophilic opening of the three-membered ring resulting from the addition of RMgCl to the carbonyl group, viz., saturated ketones(4,5-diferrocenylheptan-3-ones 4a,b and 3,4-diferrocenyl-1,5-diphenylpentan-2-ones 5a,b as ca. 3: 1 mixtures of two diastereomers) and other products. The spatial structures of compounds 2 and 4a were established by X-ray diffraction analysis of single crystals. Protonation of the cyclopropenes 2 and 3 with tetrafluoroboric acid at -40 degrees C yields the corresponding 3,3-dialkyl-1 ,2-diferrocenylcyclopropylium tetrafluoroborates. Transformation of the latter into diferrocenylallylic cations upon increasing the temperature to 20 degrees C and their eprotonation under the action of N,N-dimethylaniline were studied. Electrochemical investigation of 1 and 2 shows that in both complexes the cyclopropene spacer allows electronic communication between the two outer ferrocenyl groups, this being notably greater for 2 than for 1.

Metal-metal interactions in weakly coupled mixed-valence E- and Z-diferrocenylethylene complexes

To study metal-to-metal interactions in mixed-valence states of two weakly coupling ferrocenyl groups assembled in E or Z conformation on an ethylenic double bond, E-1,2-dimethyldiferrocenylethylene (1), Z-1,2-dimethyldi-ferrocenylethylene (2), and 1,2-diferrocenylcyclohexene (3) were synthesized and structurally characterized. Crystals of 1 are triclinic, P1, with a = 7.494(9) A, b = 10.801(3) A, c = 11.971(2) A, alpha = 102.17(2) degrees, beta = 106.12(9) degrees, gamma = 90.42(2) degrees, V = 907.8 A3, and Z = 2. Crystals of 2 are monoclinic, P2(1)/c, with a = 13.601(8) A, b = 11.104(4) A, c = 13.732(1) A, beta = 114.26(7) degrees, V = 1890.8(3) A3, and Z = 4. Crystals of 3 are orthorhombic, P2(1)2(1)2(1), with a = 5.766(2) A, b = 13.090(1) A, c = 26.695(2) A, V = 2014.9(3) A3, and Z = 4. Intervalence transition spectra (IT) and electrochemical data have been determined and compared with those of diferrocenyl-benzene (para, ortho, and meta). The comproportionation constants in nitrobenzene at 25 degrees C were found to be 490 and 813 for 1 and 3, respectively. That of 2 was not measured because of the fact that 2+ isomerizes rapidly in all solvents tested, yielding nearly a racemic mixture of E and Z conformers. This finding helps to clear the paradoxical phenomenon between experimental results of mixed-valence complexes of E- and Z-1,2-bis(1'-ethyl-1-ferrocenyl)-1,2-dimethylethylene and theories. The stability of the mixed-valence species was discussed in terms of resonance delocalization, Coulomb repulsion energy, inductive effect, magnetic interaction, structural factors, and statistical factor. According to our analysis based on the Hush formalism, the contribution due to Coulomb repulsion energy dominates the overall stability of the mixed-valence state in 1+, 2+, and 3+. Stabilization that arises from resonance delocalization is only minor and contributes less than 4% to the overall stability, even in 3+ where linked Cp rings and the ethylenic plane are coplanar. In calculating the resonance contribution, crystallographic Fe-Fe distances of 7.44 A (1) and 6.68 A (3) were used for 1+, and 3+, respectively.