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Updated: Sep 22, 2025

Author Spotlight: Experimental Approaches for the Synthesis of Low-Valent Metal-Organic Frameworks from Multitopic Phosphine Linkers
Published on: May 12, 2023
Intermolecular Interactions of CpFePPh3(CO)CO(CH2)5CH3: From a Crystalline Solid to a Supramolecular "Iron-Truss"
Nicholas Lanigan1, Abdeljalil Assoud1, Xiaosong Wang1
1Department of Chemistry and Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada.
Abstract:
PPh3CpFe(CO)(CO)(CH2)5CH3 (FpC6) spontaneously forms supramolecular polymers in the solid state. The polymers crystallize slowly over a period of one month and can be recovered by melting the crystals at 65 °C. The rheological profile of FpC6 fits the Maxwell model indicating the presence of chain entanglement. Crystal analysis reveals that FpC6 is able to assemble, via cooperative π-π interactions and weak C-H···O hydrogen bonding, into a duplex chain structure with truss arrangement of iron atoms. Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) of the polymers shows a double-peak pattern, characteristic for duplex ladder polymers. FTIR/ATR analysis further supports that carbonyl groups are involved in C-H···O hydrogen bonding responsible for the self-assembly. This discovery opens up new design motifs for organometallic supramolecular polymers.
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