Synthesis, characterization and electrochemical properties of novel trinuclear ferrocenyl based organosilane compounds

Some trinuclear ferrocenyl based organosilane compounds were synthesized by hydrosilylation reaction of [4-(ethylferrocenyl)butyl]dimethylsilane and (4-ferrocenylbutyl)dimethylsilane with bisalkenylferrocene derivatives, in the presence of the Karstedt catalyst at room temperature. In addition a simple method for the preparation of 1,1′-bis(3-butenyl)alkylferrocenes from 1,1′-bis(4-chlorobutyl)alkylferrocenes under mild conditions was developed. 1H and 13C NMR, FT-IR, GC–MS, CHN analysis, atomic absorbtion spectroscopy supported the predicted structure of the products. The electrochemical behavior of synthesized compounds was studied by cyclic voltammetry in CH3CN/0.1 M LiClO4 utilizing a glasse carbon working electrode. The relationship between the peak currents and the square root of the scan rate, showed that the redox process is diffusion limited.