ELECTRON AND ION TRANSFER POTENTIALS OF FERROCENE AND DERIVATIVES AT A LIQUID-LIQUID INTERFACE

The electrochemistry of ferrocene, dimethyl ferrocene and decamethyl f errocene at the interface of immiscible electrolytes has been investig ated. The aqueous redox electrolyte was the hexacyanoferrate couple. I t has been found that the study of the electron transfer reaction can be complicated by both the transfer of the ferricenium ion formed in t he organic phase (1,2-dichloroethane) during oxidation, and by oxidati on of the organic base electrolyte anion. However, by using a high con centration of aqueous electrolyte, the difference between ionic and el ectronic transfer potentials can be increased sufficiently to observe these two processes separately. Ionic transfer potentials of the ferri cenium ion have been measured by preparing the corresponding FeCl4- sa lts. For decamethyl ferrocene, no electron transfer reaction could be observed at the liquid/liquid interface and it is proposed that this i s due to distance effects, which become more marked for this more hydr ophobic ferrocene derivative.