Synthetic, spectroscopic and olefin oligomerisation studies on nickel and palladium complexes containing ferrocene substituted nitrogen donor ligands

A series of new pyridyl- and quinolyl-N-substituted ferrocenyl and ferrocenediyl ligands have been conveniently synthesised and characterised and their coordination chemistry probed by reaction with a range of nickel and palladium reagents. The bidentate, chelating nature of each arm is demonstrated, especially using X-ray crystallography, though subtle changes in the steric bulk around the ligand enforces other bonding modes. Electrochemical studies show the expected shift of the FeII/FeIII redox couple on coordination of the metal centre(s) to the ligands, and polymerisation studies indicate that the nickel-based complexes act as very efficient pre-catalysts for the formation of short chain oligomers.