Toward the synthetic control of the HOMO-LUMO gap in binuclear systems: insights from density functional calculations

Computational methods based on density functional theory have been applied to address the design of tailored HOMO-LUMO gap bimetallic complexes. We focus our attention on the [Cp*Fe-(L)-FeCp*] system, where two ferrocenyl units are linked through the dianion of fused ring ligands such as pentalene, s-indacene, dicyclopenta-[b,g]-naphthalene, dicyclopenta-[b,i]-anthracene and dicyclopenta-[b,l]-tetracene. Our DFT calculations on the title organometallic complexes suggest a controlled decrease in the HOMO-LUMO gap, which is desirable for studies on electron-transfer phenomena, as well as the design potential devices for molecular electronic purposes.