Synthesis and electrochemical behavior of the ferrocenyl units assembled on imidoalane and carbaalane clusters

Abstract

Hydroalumination reaction was effectively carried out on ferrocenylnitrile in the synthesis of imidoalane cluster HAlNCH2C5H4FeCp (3). Compound 3 exhibits a reversible electrochemical behavior. In the presence of ferrocenylmethanol, meta thesis reactions were carried out on HAlNCH2(C4H3S) (4) and HAlNCH2Ph (5) in the synthesis of CpFeC5H4CH2OAlNCH2(C4H3S) (6) and CpFeC5H4CH2OAlNCH2Ph (7). The ferrocenylmethoxide groups present in these two compounds show a single reversible oxidation wave, which suggests their electrochemical equivalence. Electrochemical studies were also carried out on the carbaalane [(AlH)(2)(FcC&3bond; CAl)(4)(AlNMe3)(2)(CCH2Ph)(6)] (9), which exhibited a considerably broadened wave with shoulders preceding the main anodic and cathodic peak, and it can be assigned to weak electronic interactions between the individual ferrocenyl sites. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.