Hydrogen-bonding patterns in ferrocene derivatives: structures of 1,1'-diphenyl-1,1'-(1,1'-ferrocenediyl)diethanol and 1,1'-(1,1'-ferrocenediyl)diethanol

Abstract

Racemic 1, l'-diphenyl- 1,1'-( 1, l'-ferrocenediyl)diethanol, [Fe{(CsH4)C(Ph)MeOH}2] (I), crystallizes as hydrogen- bonded dimeric aggregates with the Fe atoms on twofold crystallographic axes and the four O atoms defining a folded trapezium with O...O distances of 2.784 (2) (x2), 2.877(3) and 2.795 (4)A. The four hydroxyl H atoms are disordered equally over two orientations such that there are two half-occupancy H-atom sites between each hydrogen-bonded O-atom pair. Racemic 1,1'-(1, l'- ferrocenediyl)diethanol, [Fe{(CsH4)C(H)MeOH}2] (II),crystallizes as hydrogen-bonded centrosymmetric dimers, with O...O distances of 2.778 (2) and 2.764 (2) A and ordered hydroxyl H atoms. In (I), the dimers are formed from either two RR or two SS molecules, while in (II) the dimers each contain one RR and one SS molecule.