The one-electron oxidation product of a metallocenyl-terminated cyanine

The 1-(2,3,4,5,1',2',3',4'-octamethylferrocen-1-yl)-3-(ruthenocenyl)allyliu m cation readily undergoes one-electron oxidation to a dication in which an octamethylferrocenium moiety is bridged by a vinylene group to a [(eta(6)- fulvene)( eta(5)-cyclopentadienyl)ruthenium](+) moiety. In the title compou nd, 1-(2,3,4, 5,1',2',3',4'-octamethylferrocen-1-yl)-3-(ruthenocenylidene)- prop-1-enium(2+) bis(tetrafluoroborate), [FeRu(C5H5)-(C9H13)(C17H19)](BF4)2 , the C-C bond lengths in the bridge (average for two independent molecules ) are, starting from the ipso octamethylferrocenium carbon and ending at th e exo carbon of the coordinated fulvene, 1.455(6), 1.344(3) and 1.449 (8) A ngstrom, indicating a localized electronic structure.