Cyclometalated hexacarbonyldiiron complex 2, which derived from N-(2-thieny
lmethylidene)aniline, undergoes (1) thermolysis to recover the original Sch
iff base 1, (2) reduction to form a hydrogenation product of the original t
hienyl Schiff base 3, (3) substitution to form a phosphine-substituted comp
lex 4, and (4) chemical as well as electrochemical oxidation to produce a g
amma -lactam 5. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.