Abstract
Introducing a ferrocene moiety into a molecule results in the incorporation of a metal center and a redox active moiety. This contribution describes the synthesis of FcN(CH2PPh2)(2) (1; Fc=ferrocenyl), a ferrocene analog of the widely studied bis-phosphane pincer ligands, RN(CH2PPh2)(2).
Compound 1 was studied as a ligand in complexes of Group 10 and 11 metal ions. The following compounds were synthesized and characterized using a combination of spectroscopic methods and single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis: the square planar complexes [MX2(1-κ(2)P,P')] (M/X=Ni/Cl, Pd/Cl, Pd/Br, Pd/I and Pt/Cl) and the tetrahedral complexes [M(1-.kappa-(2)P,P')(2)]X (M/X=Cu/PF6, Ag/SbF6 and Au/SbF6).
Furthermore, a pair of open and cyclic digold(I) complexes containing bis-phosphane 1 as a P,P-bridging ligand, viz. [(μ(P,P')-1)(AuCl)(2)] and [(mu(P,P')-1)(2)Au-2][SbF6](2), were isolated. Ligand 1, the corresponding phosphane selenide 1-Se and all complexes (except for the poorly soluble [(mu(P,P')-1)(2)Au-2][SbF6] and unstable [Ag(1-κ(2)P,P')(2)][SbF6]) were further analyzed by cyclic voltammetry.