Search

Aluminum compounds with up to four ferrocenyl groups (Fc) linked to aluminum were prepared and characterized in solution by NMR spectroscopy (1H, 13C, 27Al NMR), and in one case, tri(ferrocenyl)aluminum-pyridine Fc3Al-py in the solid state by X-ray structural analysis. The attempts to stabilize the unsymmetrical species R2Al-Fc and RAl(Fc)2 (R = Me, Et) as the pyridine adducts were partially successful, although it proved difficult to suppress the formation of species containing Al–Cl functions completely.

The reaction of ferrocenyllithium (FcLi, 1) with dimethyl or diethylaluminum chloride affords known mixed dimers 2 built from dialkyl(ferrocenyl))aluminium and dialkylaluminum chloride and also, depending on the reaction conditions, the unknown dimers from dialkyl(ferrocenyl)aluminum 3, of which the dimethyl derivative could be isolated in a pure state and characterised by X-ray structural analysis. The ferrocenyl group occupies the bridging position and there is a centre of inversion. The solution-state structures were determined by NMR spectroscopic methods (1H, 13C, 27Al NMR). The gas-phase structure of monomer FcAlH2 3(M) was optimised at the B3LYP/6-311 + G(d,p) level of theory.