Crystal structures of anil of benzoylferrocene and its derivative of mercury: Specific arrangement of the ferrocenyl and phenyl groups around the CN bond

Abstract

The crystal structures of [(phenylimino) phenylmethyl]ferrocene ( 1) and 2-chloromercurio-1-[(phenylimino)phenylmethyl]ferrocene ( 2) have been determined by X-ray diffraction methods to obtain structural information on the anils of benzoylferrocene and their mercurated derivatives. The most striking feature is the specific arrangements of the phenyl and cyclopentadienyl rings around the CN bond. It has been found that the N-phenyl ring adopts a trans conformation with the ferrocenyl moiety, and the twist angles of both the N-phenyl and C-phenyl rings out of the plane of CN bond are much larger than that of the s substituted ferrocenyl ring out of this plane. A comparison between the structures of 1 and 2 is presented. The intramolecular coordination between the Hg and N in compound 2 is confirned, showing an NHg distance of 2.870 Å, shorter than the sum of van der Waals radii of N and Hg (3.05–3.15 Å).