Novel zinc(ii) coordination polymers constructed from ferrocenyl carboxylate ligands

Abstract

Two novel ferrocene-containing Zn(II) coordination polymers, [Zn{μ2-OOCCH(CH3)CFc}2]n [1, Fc = (η5-C5H5)Fe(η5-C5H4)] and {[Zn2{μ2-OOCCH(CH3)CFc}4(bpa)]·2MeOH}n [2, bpa = 1,2-bis(4-pyridyl)ethane], have been prepared. The two polymers have been characterized by single-crystal X-ray crystallography. The Zn(II) ions in polymer 1 are bridged by μ2-coordinated FcC(CH3)CHCOO− anions, forming an infinite [Zn(μ2-OOCH(CH3)CFc}2]n chain. Polymer 2 is constructed from paddle-wheel shaped [Zn2{μ2-OOCCH(CH3)CFc}4] building units. The dimeric tetrabridged cores are connected by organic bridging ligands, leading to a linear [Zn2{μ2-OOCCH(CH3)CFc}4(bpa)]n chain. To the best of our knowledge, 2 is the first example of a Zn(II) polymer built up by ferrocene-based paddle-wheel building units. The electrochemical properties of both polymers were also investigated.