Crystal structure and Hirshfeld surface analysis study of (E)-1-(4-chlorophenyl)-N-(4-ferrocenylphenyl)methanimine

The substituted cyclopentadienyl ring in the title molecule, [Fe(C5H5)(C18H13ClN)], is nearly coplanar with the phenyl-1-(4-chlorophenyl)methanimine substituent, with dihedral angles between the planes of the phenylene ring and the Cp and 4-(chlorophenyl)methanimine units of 7.87 (19) and 9.23 (10)°, respectively. The unsubstituted cyclopentadienyl ring is rotationally disordered, the occupancy ratio for the two orientations refined to a 0.666 (7)/0.334 (7) ratio. In the crystal, the molecules pack in `bilayers' parallel to the ab plane with the ferrocenyl groups on the outer faces and the substituents directed towards the regions between them. The ferrocenyl groups are linked by C—H...π(ring) interactions. A Hirshfeld surface analysis of the crystal structure indicates that the most important contributions for the crystal packing are from H...H (46.1%), H...C/C... H (35.4%) and H...Cl/Cl...H (13.8%) interactions. Thus C—H...π(ring) and van der Waals interactions are the dominant interactions in the crystal packing.