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The synthesis of tetrakis(N,N-dimethylaminomethyl)ferrocene and its bimetallic nickel(II) dichloride complex: the search for precursors for methoxycarbonylation ligands

The synthesis of tetrakis(N,N-dimethylaminomethyl)ferrocene and its bimetallic nickel(II) dichloride complex: the search for precursors for methoxycarbonylation ligands
The synthesis of tetrakis(N,N-dimethylaminomethyl)ferrocene and its bimetallic nickel(II) dichloride complex: the search for precursors for methoxycarbonylation ligands

The family of N,N-dimethylaminomethylferrocene compounds is one of the most important in ferrocene chemistry. They serve as precursors for a range of anti-malarial and anti-tumour medicinal compounds, in addition to being key precursors for ferrocene ligands in the Lucite alpha process. A brief discussion on the importance and synthesis of N,N-dimethylaminomethyl-substituted ferrocenes preludes the synthesis of the new ligand, 1,1′,2,2′-tetrakis-(N,N-dimethylaminomethyl)ferrocene. The crystal structure of this compound is reported, and a comparison is made with its disubstituted analogue, 1,2-bis-(N,N-dimethylaminomethyl)ferrocene. The tetrahedral nickel dichloride complexes of both these ligands have been crystallographically characterised. Finally, a pointer to future research in the area is given, which includes a discussion of a new method to extract ferrocenylmethylamines from mixtures using additives and a new synthetic avenue from substituted cyclopentadiene itself.

amine, anti-malaria, crystal structure, ferrocene, precursor, synthesis
2304-6740
Butler, Ian R.
a3e83fb2-442a-47c7-95c8-756a9a5e9f79
Horton, Peter N.
154c8930-bfc3-495b-ad4a-8a278d5da3a5
Clegg, William
5b1994af-8799-4402-9c01-8479959de00b
Coles, Simon J.
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Murphy, Loretta
3ac9fa87-c098-4bd9-bf7b-51c9c8e5365e
Elliott, Steven
388011dc-119a-4824-9979-9cca68a748d2
Butler, Ian R.
a3e83fb2-442a-47c7-95c8-756a9a5e9f79
Horton, Peter N.
154c8930-bfc3-495b-ad4a-8a278d5da3a5
Clegg, William
5b1994af-8799-4402-9c01-8479959de00b
Coles, Simon J.
3116f58b-c30c-48cf-bdd5-397d1c1fecf8
Murphy, Loretta
3ac9fa87-c098-4bd9-bf7b-51c9c8e5365e
Elliott, Steven
388011dc-119a-4824-9979-9cca68a748d2

Butler, Ian R., Horton, Peter N., Clegg, William, Coles, Simon J., Murphy, Loretta and Elliott, Steven (2026) The synthesis of tetrakis(N,N-dimethylaminomethyl)ferrocene and its bimetallic nickel(II) dichloride complex: the search for precursors for methoxycarbonylation ligands. Inorganics, 14 (2), [37]. (doi:10.3390/inorganics14020037).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The family of N,N-dimethylaminomethylferrocene compounds is one of the most important in ferrocene chemistry. They serve as precursors for a range of anti-malarial and anti-tumour medicinal compounds, in addition to being key precursors for ferrocene ligands in the Lucite alpha process. A brief discussion on the importance and synthesis of N,N-dimethylaminomethyl-substituted ferrocenes preludes the synthesis of the new ligand, 1,1′,2,2′-tetrakis-(N,N-dimethylaminomethyl)ferrocene. The crystal structure of this compound is reported, and a comparison is made with its disubstituted analogue, 1,2-bis-(N,N-dimethylaminomethyl)ferrocene. The tetrahedral nickel dichloride complexes of both these ligands have been crystallographically characterised. Finally, a pointer to future research in the area is given, which includes a discussion of a new method to extract ferrocenylmethylamines from mixtures using additives and a new synthetic avenue from substituted cyclopentadiene itself.

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Accepted/In Press date: 11 January 2026
Published date: 25 January 2026
Keywords: amine, anti-malaria, crystal structure, ferrocene, precursor, synthesis

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 511051
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/511051
ISSN: 2304-6740
PURE UUID: b2cd423a-6a59-4194-b33e-b7290c7df733
ORCID for Peter N. Horton: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-6095-1460
ORCID for Simon J. Coles: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-8414-9272

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Date deposited: 29 Apr 2026 16:43
Last modified: 30 Apr 2026 01:36

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Contributors

Author: Ian R. Butler
Author: Peter N. Horton ORCID iD
Author: William Clegg
Author: Simon J. Coles ORCID iD
Author: Loretta Murphy
Author: Steven Elliott

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